A Gallagher Girls Summer
by BookkWorm
Summary: It's summer time in Roseville Virginia and Cammie and the girls have some big plans! Join them as they have the adventure of a lifetime, with a few surprises along the way. Takes place after Cross My Heart, but has events from the books that follow.
1. Chapter 1

Warning: Characters are probably gonna be a little OOC and it's probably not gonna follow Ally Carter's Plot line.

Chapter 1

Another year down. I don't think I will ever get sick of Gallagher. Mace, Bex, Liz, and I were packing up for the beginning of our summer adventure. Call us crazy, but we planned out the summer in a pretty detailed way this year.

We decided to start out the summer at a house we rented right on the edge of the beach. My mom was gonna come with us and they house would put us right in the middle of everything. We had some great ideas for relaxation.

After about a month at the house we were gonna go our separate ways. Sort of. Bex was gonna go back to London to do stuff with her parents. Liz was heading back to Alabama to visit with her family. Macey and I were actually gonna stick together for the entire summer, when we go our separate ways, Mace and I are headed for the Hamptons. I secretly fear that she'll drag me to New York City to do some shopping before we stop on Long Island. I can honestly say I don't mind shopping but...let's just say the McHenry's take 'shopping' to a whole new level.

After our time apart we will head back to Gallagher for another school year. Hopefully I won't be the first girl back to the school like I have been every other year.

"Cam!" Bex's voice called me from my time in the shower.

"Coming!" I yelled back. I tried to steel myself for the inevitable. I wouldn't it above Macey to plan my wardrobe for the entire summer. She has nominated me to be her personal Barbie doll. As bad as it sounds, it could be worse. I actually don't mind it as much as I thought I would most of the time. Some days I like looking pretty. We've actually had some pretty funny times thanks to some of the crazy things Macey has tried on me.

"Hey Cammie, try this on really fast!" Macey threw some pieces of clothing at me as she went back to packing up her stuff for the summer. She recently cleaned out her closet so the rest of us got some new clothes. On the bright side it shouldn't take Macey too long to pack on the down side, it would probably take the rest of us longer to pack.

As I headed back to the bathroom change, I nearly tripped over some of my own things I still had to pack. As I was shutting the bathroom door I heard Liz manage to trip over something and fall to the ground

"Oopsy Daisy!" I stifled a giggle. You couldn't help but love Liz, no matter how many times she fell. I put on the outfit Macey had so kindly thrown at me. I'm not gonna lie, it was cute and kinda fit my personality. We were planning on leaving in an hour so I had on a pair of cut off denim shorts and an oversized black t-shirt with tribal designs with some white all stars. Cute and functional. I walked back into the room and tripped over the same dumb thing I tripped over going into the bathroom. Not surprisingly it was an old uniform.

For some reason seeing the old thing made me think of the past year. It was quite the year, my first boyfriend, my first CIA 'interview', and my first...Blackthorne boy. All of our first Blackthorne boys, well except for Macey.

"Hurry up Cammie, the limos will be here in a few minutes!" Bex yelled as she threw clothes into her suitcase. I hurriedly tossed the rest of my own clothes into my suitcase and looked around one last time for anything I could miss over the summer. In my rush to pack, I hadn't dried my hair or brushed it really so I ran a brush through it before throwing it into my bag with the rest of my stuff.

"We have to get our stuff downstairs, quick!" Macey yelled as she started her second trip down. I grabbed my two bags and followed my roommates down to the grand hall. We placed our suitcases on the front steps, ready to be loaded into the limo. It would take me, my mom, Macey, Bex, and Liz to the airport and we would be off to florida. I was so excited to spend time with my sisters this summer, I already knew it would be a summer to remember.

"Hey girls!" my mom called to us "Are you ready to have some fun?" she asked.

"Yeah!"

"Totally!"

"Looking forward to it!"

"This is going to be awesome!"

Our replies all over lapped each other and we burst into laughter. Some how the atmosphere had changed in the past few days with all the tests over, we seemed more relaxed and free.

" There may be some surprises in store for you this summer so remember to expect the unexpected" My mom said with wink. I couldn't help but let out a groan.

"You sound like Mr. Solomon!" I exclaimed

"What about me?" A voice spoke from the entry-way.

"Speak of the devil…" Bex muttered under her breath and we burst into poorly concealed giggles. He gave us a pointed look to let us know we heard him but we ignored it. This was our summer.

"Come on guys, time's a wastin!" Liz called as she lugged her dufflebag over to our limo. The rest of us followed suit, except for my mom who was whispering to Mr. Solomon. I nudged Bex and we tried to lip read their conversation. It made no sense to me, I only caught pieces of what they were saying when they were finished and my mom walked towards us I looked at Bex and she shrugged. Apparently she hadn't understood anything either. Drat.

"Plane leaves in 45 minutes ladies, lets go!" My mom cheered as she placed her own suitcase into the trunk. I climbed in beside my sisters and allowed myself a small smile as Macey handed us all a pair of Aviator sunglasses. This was going to be an _awesome_ summer.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Two hours and 41 minutes later, we finally touched down in Florida. After the _wonderful_ travel on the plane (note the sarcasm), we were all _so excited_ for the hour car drive to the beach house we rented (again, sarcasm).

We settled in the car, with my mom and Bex in the front and me, Macey, and Liz in the middle seat. Word to the wise, whatever you do, don't try to race Bex to the passenger seat of the car, you'll end up with bruises. Trust me, I speak from experience.

During the car ride, I caught Macey writing in a notebook, I tried to see what she was writing, but she noticed me and rotated it so I couldn't see. I shrugged it off, it was unlikely I would be able to see anything through the dark lenses of my aviators. I decided to try to find out what was in it later.

A boring 5 minutes into the car ride, Liz had an excellent idea.

"Let's play the alphabet game!" she exclaimed.

"Never played." Macey said with a bored look.

"Are you kidding me?!" I asked her "You spend so much time on the road, how have you never played the alphabet game, it's like the ultimate road trip game." The truth of it suddenly hit me, I played that game with my dad that day we went to the circus.

"Well, how do you play?" Macey asked, seeming genuinely interested. As Lizzie and I explained the game, Bex started looking for the first letter in the alphabet. about halfway through our explanation Bex shouted:

"A!"

And the game began. The next 45 minutes were filled with screams and yells as we each found letters in the alphabet. Macey caught on quickly, and despite my mothers trash talk, we found she was rather bad at the game. She had only found 2 letters, I was leading with 6, Bex followed with 5, Lizzie and Mace were tied with 4 each. With only 5 letters left, we all had our eyes open. Eventually we reached the beach house and we were all startled as my mom yelled

"We're here!" Liz jumped about a foot in the air and I felt my pulse race with a small amount of adrenaline.

I rolled my eyes and started to unbuckle my seat belt.

"First come first served for room assignments!" called my mom as she went to open the door. We all raced out of the car and up through the house. Bex was in the lead and I was hot on her heels, Macey was right behind me and considering the fact that Liz was on the research and development track, she was keeping up pretty well, until she crashed into the table.

"Oopsy Daisy!" she called as she raced to make up time. We giggled a little as we ran upstairs and launched ourselves into rooms.

Mine was down the hall across from Bex with a queen size bed and good sized dresser and closet. It was an off white and a door led to the bathroom that connected with Macey's room.

Macey had a good sized room almost identical to mine but hers had a mirror in the corner, across the hall from her was Liz. Liz had the smallest room but it was decent size. She and Bex would share the bathroom at the very end of the hall, with a closet in between the two rooms. I knew we would probably all end up sharing the bathroom between me and Macey's room.

My mom's room was downstairs with a master bathroom branching off just down the hall from the kitchen. The opposite way of the kitchen, there were some couches and love sacs with a T.V. and movies, a door on the left of that lead to another bathroom. With a pool in the backyard and our private stretch of beach, the house was nice. The kitchen was a good size, with modern appliances and I decided that we wouldn't let my mom near them. She would probably end up destroying the microwave.

As Macey and Bex unpacked, Liz and I explored the backyard. The beach started a few yards away from the pool. There was a shower to rinse off the sad and a fire pit just past the back door. I could already picture the nights to come.

But adventures would have to wait. It was barely five o'clock and I was already exhausted. As Liz and I went back inside, we chatted mindlessly about what we planned to do over the next month.

"We'll have to have s'mores at least once." She said. I nodded my agreement.

"And we'll go on at least one night swim in both the ocean and the pool." she gave a small smile as she picture us crashing us through the ocean in the dark.

"Hey girls! Do you mind if I order pizza for dinner?" my mom asked as we started up the stairs.

"Nope, sounds good" we said with a smile

"I can already guess what kind you girls want" she said with a wink. I started to grin. No matter what anybody said, we were carnivores and we loved nothing more than a pizza covered in pieces of sausage bacon and pepperoni.

"Cam! Come unpack, I need your bathroom stuff!" Macey called from our joint bathroom.

"Lizzie, I need yours too!" Bex's british voice echoed from their bathroom.

"By the way," Macey said as she appeared in her doorway "we are waxing tonight, and you two are not getting out of it."

I stifled a groan and went towards my room. I gave Liz a mock salute and she smiled and repeated the gesture, almost knocking the sunglasses off her head. I grinned at her as I walked backwards down the hall, almost running into Bex.

"Careful Chameleon" She said in a mock serious tone. Her huge smile told me she was trying to get me to run into her.

"You wanna fight Duchess?" I asked her smiling. I put my fists up in an overexaggerated defensive state.

"Definitely!"

"Then put up your dukes!" I teased her and just as we were going to start circling each other, Macey came out.

"Nobody is fighting anybody until Cammie unpacks." She turned me towards my room "March." She said simply.

I dragged myself through the door and quickly threw clothing into drawers and even took the time to hang up shirts. Almost twenty minutes later I brought my bathroom stuff to Macey who was vigorously arranging and rearranging her products.

"Finally, stay in here just so you know where everything is. " I leaned against the wall as Macey added my things into the row of cosmetics on the counter. She occasionally asked my opinion and I gave her the best answers I could think of. Sometimes they were satisfactory and sometimes they weren't. Yet another half an hour later, Macey was finally content with the way it was arranged.

"Make sure if you use anything you put back exactly where you found it." she tells me sternly and I nod.

"Can I go spar with Bex now?" I asked pleadingly

"Yes, I suppose" She said with a roll of her eyes. I smiled and raced to change.

I put on a pair of tight black athletic shorts (the loose ones drive me insane) and one of my exercise shirts from P&amp;E at Gallagher. After tying my laces, I went to find Bex. She just so happened to be in her room. I banged on the door.

"WHAT?!" She yelled

"You wanna spar or what?" I yelled back

She appeared at the door grinning like a mad man.

"Let's go." I smiled back at her as we headed for the beach.

As we reached the sand, we pulled off our socks and shoes for better traction on the somewhat slippery surface.

We started circling each other. I loved sparing with Bex because it was a challenge. I knew her better than anyone else, but she knew me in ways that not even my mother knows me. I could predict her moves as easily as she could mine. Add that to the fact that Bex had moves that she was forbidden to pull in sparring matches, it made for one interesting fight.

Bex moved first, she always does. We fell into a familiar routine of punch, block, kick, duck, lunge, until we hit an unfamiliar element. We had traveled closer to the water, we were on the wet sand. I was distracted by this fact when Bex tackled me head first into the water. We went down spluttering and came up laughing. We sat there with smiles on our faces when I reached down, grabbed a handful of sand and threw it in her face.

"Oops" I said faux innocently with a grin on my face. She glared at me and threw sand back at me and laughed.

"Oh, you're going down." I said with a serious look on my face. I grabbed some sand and tangled it in her hair. That stopped her laughs real quick. She shoved some sand down the back of my shirt and I returned the favor by shoving some down her shorts and when she bent down to return the favor, I put sand down her shirt. Both of us were dripping in mud and sand, but we kept going. We laughed and threw sand and Bex even got some in her mouth! About half an hour later, Liz came to see what was so funny. We looked at each other and flung some sand at Liz. She gave us a death glare before joining our fight. She had only been with us for fifteen minutes before she was as drenched as we were. My mom and Macey were the next to come out. None of us dared throw sand at either of them. My mom produced a camera from her pocket and took a picture. We gave the camera a cheeky pose.

She grinned at us and said "Rinse off the sand before you come inside. Liz you can come shower in the downstairs bathroom. Pizza will be here in about half an hour. " Macey laughed at us before heading inside.

We hurried to rinse off and then inside to shower. We tossed our clothes into the laundry basket.

"Food's here!" Macey called. We raced down stairs and sat at the table in the kitchen.

"I was wondering how long it would take you girls to de-sand yourselves." My mom said with a wink.

"Weelllll," I drawled "We wouldn't have to 'de-sand' if it weren't for Bex" I shot a teasing look at my best friend.

She stuck her tongue out at me. "Don't act like you didn't throw any sand," she said with her british accent leaking through "in fact, I think you were the first to throw sand."

"So we have Cammie to blame for the sand everywhere?" Liz asked in her southern drawl with her eyebrows raised.

Macey laughed a little at the idea of me starting a fight "Boy, am I glad I wasn't involved in that little fight" she said as she took a big bite.

"Don't worry Mace, we'll get you in the next one." I said back.

We laughed and dug into the pizza. We ate 2 boxes of pizza in no time flat. As we were clearing our plates, my mom inquired as to what we planned to do next.

"You girls want to watch a movie?" she asked

"We would love too, but we're waxing tonight" Bex answered.

Liz and I groaned.

"Come on girlies." Macey said as she lead us upstairs, to our doom.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Liz and I were marched up the stairs, with Macey and Bex blocking the only exit. As we walked into our bathroom, I saw what Macey was up to the whole time we were outside. There were pots of wax warming on the counter, moisturizer, scents, and cloth strips everywhere. In the center of this organized chaos, were 2 chairs.

"Come on Cam, you and Liz are first." Macey said as she handed Liz and I both a sports bra and spandex. We exchanged nervous looks as we changed into the given clothes. Macey and Bex faced away from us and we hurriedly changed and sat down in each of the chairs.

"I'll do Cammie!" Bex volunteered.

Macey shut her down "No way! Last time you did Cammie, you ended up ripping her skin off, you're way more careful when you do Liz." She handed Bex a pot of wax and some cloth strips, hit play on her iPod, and got started on removing unwanted hair from me.

For the next hour and a half Macey carefully poured wax anywhere with unwanted hair and then ripped it off. Small burst of pain were heard from Liz, but I didn't utter a peep (a fact I'm extremely proud of.) When she was done, I was red and soft everywhere. She handed me a bottle of moisturizer and I put it on without complaint. With the soothing lotion, my skin didn't burn quite so bad. Macey had changed while I applied the moisturizer so I extracted my revenge and started removing unwanted hair with Macey.

When I was half way done, Bex finished with Liz and Liz started on Bex. I finished with Macey and handed her the bottle of moisturizer. Over the music she chatted with me.

"See that wasn't so bad!" she said way too cheerfully. I rolled my eyes and opened the bathroom door leading to my room. With the windows open, the house was as hot and as humid as it was outside. I grabbed an oversized t-shirt I loved to sleep in and slipped it over the sports bra and spandex. I went back into the bathroom to see how my friends were faring.

Bex was grumbling to herself and Liz and grabbed a t-shirt like mine, as had Macey.

"So, what's on the agenda for tomorrow?" I asked

Macey grinned at me. "Shopping!" I resisted the urge to groan. I didn't mind the new clothes, I was even a little excited, but considering the fact that all she said was shopping made me nervous.

"All day?" I asked timidly.

She rolled her eyes at me "No, not this time at least" I released a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Tomorrow is food shopping, clothes shopping isn't until next week."

"Can we go to the beach after shopping?" asked Liz excitedly. I nodded my agreement, the beach sounded awesome.

"Sounds good, but we'll have to pack a bag tonight." Bex added in.

We voice our agreements and went to our separate rooms to pack bags we could take down to the waters edge with us. I laid out a bathing suit that Macey had lent me for the trip and packed a towel, a brush, a water bottle, sunglasses, sunscreen, and tanning oil in a small bag. I placed the bag by my door and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

"Hey Cammie! Come here for a sec!" Macey called from her room next door. I went to see what she wanted and saw a brush in her hand. "Don't freak out, I just want to french braid your hair. Bring my iPod over when you come here, would you?"

I grabbed the item and went to sit in front of her bed. I handed her the iPod and let her run the brush through my hair. It felt nice. She wove my hair into a french braid and wound a hair tie around the end.

As she did my hair we talked "What day are we leaving again?" I asked her.

"July 3rd. Apparently it's essential I'm home for the fourth of July" I could hear her roll her eyes. "Would you let me put highlights in your hair?"

"Maybe." I meant it.

"I saw some guys looking over at you guys from the house next door. They were cute." I could imagine her grin. In spite of myself, I grinned too.

"Oh yeah? How cute? Rate them for me."

"An 8.5, a 8.75, a 9.2 and a 9.5" I raised my eyebrows sceptically. No way just some guys from florida would receive such a rating from Macey McHenry.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I saw one perfect for you." She tugged my hair affectionately. "But then again, you still might be hung up on Zach." I forced down a blush.

"Unfortunately, one kiss does not a boyfriend make." I climbed up onto her bed and was met with a sceptical look. "Seriously! I'm ready for a summer fling." I wiggled my eyebrows at her and she laughed.

"Do my hair now would you?"

"French braid?" I asked for clarification

"Yeah!"

"Do you have any idea why Zach would kiss me?"

She shrugged her shoulders "I guess after a whole semester of flirting he decided to do something about it." I tugged a strand of her hair as I set the brush aside and began to braid "I'm serious though! He was looking you, like, whenever you weren't looking at him. I kept on hoping you would catch him in the act just once. It's too bad he won't be around any more, you would've made a cute couple."

I let out a short laugh. "Yeah, too bad."

"You may not have admit it, but you like him just as much if not more than you liked Josh." I hated to admit that it was true.

I changed the subject "You wanna work on catching up in CoveOps this summer?" I asked.

"Yeah! Totally! You and Bex could help me!" she responded enthusiastically. I smiled as I wrapped a hair tie around the end of the braid.

"That's the plan" She jumped up on the bed next to me.

"Can I tell you a secret?" she asked me very seriously

"Of course!" I responded immediately.

"Okay, well that notebook you saw me writing in earlier has a list in it," she reached over and pulled the notebook out of a drawer in her bed side table "it has a ton of things to do over the summer, kind of a summer bucket list. I've had it since I was twelve. It's a little pathetic actually, it's all the stuff I dreamed of doing with my best friend if I ever got one." she trailed off a little embarrassed

"I don't think it's pathetic," I argued "I think it's great, and since you're gonna be stuck with me all summer, looks like it's gonna be up to us to make sure everything on the list gets completed" I smiled at her

She surprised me by pulling me into a hug but I didn't hesitate to hug back.

"Thanks, Cam." she said sincerely "You really are my best friend."

"Anytime Mace." I said back, and I really meant it. "Now, it's getting late, I'm going to bed before we get into to trouble with my mom."

"Night Cam"

"Night Macey"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Rise and shine!" Macey's voice came echoing in through my room. "Cameron Ann Morgan! Get your butt out of bed right now! We have things to do!" She said in a sing-song voice. I smiled in spite of myself.

"Coming!" I managed to call back.

"Does that mean you can help me get Bex out of bed?" Liz's timid voice called from across the hall. I pulled myself out of my bed, too excited for the chance to shove her out of bed.

"Rebecca Baxter, you have exactly 3 seconds to get out of bed before I make you get out of bed." I received no response. "3...2...1" I pulled her arm hard so she landed on the floor at my feet. She lifted her head and glared at me and I gave her a smug smile "I'm going to shower!" I called to my friends.

"Oh no you don't!" Macey stopped me "You showered last night and that's good enough, hurry and get dressed, I have this great idea for your hair today."

I hurried to put something on. I decided to wear some high waisted cut off jean shorts with a short black shirt that just met the top of the shorts. After sliding on some converse I deemed myself ready. I headed into the bathroom and raised my eyebrows at Macey in a question.

Macey looked me over, turned back towards her room and handed me a large flannel shirt to go over the outfit. She nodded once I put it on and motioned for me to sit in the chair. She pulled the french braid out of my hair and it fell in pretty waves. She sprayed it with something unlabeled. _Must be illegal _I decided. she scrunched my hair in her hands and smiled.

"Perfect," was all she said and I have to admit, I kind of liked the way it looked. "Let's go see if Liz and Bex are ready."

We walked in the hall as Liz and Bex exited their bathroom.

"You guys ready?" I asked Liz nodded.

"Wait!" Bex yelled. She ran into her room and came out carrying a perfume bottle. She sprayed all of us. "Now we match" she said with a smile and we laughed. We clamored down the stairs and I went to go find my mom.

"You ready yet mom?" I called from the hallway and she emerged from her room with her purse in hand.

"As ready as I'll ever be!" She smiled at me "Come on, we'll find something to eat on the way to town."

"Shot gun!" I yelled as I ran past my roommates towards the car. I reached the car, jumped in and locked the door. Bex's face was pressed up against the car window and I made a silly face at her. She laughed then climbed into the backseat.

As soon as my mom turned on the car, I started surfing channels to find a good radio station. I finally found something that sounded somewhat modern, I turned around in my seat a little to see what the girls were talking about.

"Young Tom Cruise is definitely more attractive than a young George Clooney" Bex argued.

"You're insane!" Macey argued "George Clooney was way more attractive than Tom Cruise!"

"Emphasis on _was_" Bex added

"As entertaining as this is," I added in "I'm going to have to agree with Macey here." I said shooting a sorry look at Bex.

"What about you Liz?" Bex asked, no doubt looking for some support.

"Sorry Bex…" She said shyly.

"I can't believe this!"

"I'm with you Bex, Tom Cruise was always a cutie." My mom added in.

"At least someone in this car has some common sense" Bex said smugly. She folded her arms and gave us all a look.

"I hate to break it to you Bex, but my mom isn't exactly the best person in the world to have for back up unless you're in the field." I explained. Macey and Liz nodded their agreement.

"Alright, enough of this, where are we going first?" my mom asked

"We're shopping for food today then headed back to hang out at the beach. Other shopping will be done next week." Macey said my mom nodded in agreement.

"Sounds good," She said "but I feel like I should warn you, I can shop for hours and don't plan on stopping until I'm satisfied with all purchases."

Macey grinned "That, I can handle."

A few minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store in the closest town. My mom rattled off some items for each of us to find and we spilt up going up and down the aisles looking for our items. As we went our separate ways, I had a brilliant idea. I pulled Bex and Macey aside.

"CoveOps challenge: add something to someone's cart without them noticing." I whispered they smiled excitedly and hurried off to their aisles. I went into my own and almost immediately a way to complete my challenge. I grabbed a packet of soup mix off the shelf next to me and started towards the, admittedly cute, boy down the aisle.

As I walked up next to him, I looked intently at the jars in front of us. I 'accidentally' bumped into him and slipped the soup mix into his basket.

"Oh my gosh!" I exclaimed "I am so sorry!"

He smiled at me "It's no problem, no harm no foul right?" I grinned back at him. "I'm Jake, by the way" He held out his hand for me to shake.

"Cammie" I replied shaking his hand softly "I really am sorry, but I should go find my friends" I started backing away faux nervously.

"Okay, great meeting you Cammie"

"You too, Jake" I smiled at him one last time and gave a small wave.

Mission accomplished.

I hurried to find my items, and went to meet my mom and friends at the register. The cart was full of frozen items or things that could me made easily. It was clear my mom didn't plan to make anything from scratch. I was relieved, at least with frozen and boxed foods we could keep her from poisoning us.

"We were wondering when you would show up." Bex said smiling at me 'Mission accomplished?' she mouthed at me and I gave a small nod in response.

"Alright girlies, I want to go to the beach so let's get these suckers into the car and head on home!" Liz exclaimed

The drive home was full of lots of laughing and many punches. We made up a game, whenever we saw someone driving distracted, we got to punch the person next to us. I sat next to Bex and Macey in the back with Liz in the front, we didn't want to get bruised too bad. Don't let her size fool you, Liz can throw a mean punch.

By the time we reached the house, we all had bruises on our arms and legs but we laughed the whole way in the house.

"You girls go change, I'll put the groceries away" my mom said after we had finished carrying in the bags.

"You sure?" Macey asked

"Definitely, go have fun" my mom waved us off with a smile.

We ran to go change, I slipped into my borrowed bikini and left my hair down. I grabbed my bag and went out into the hall the girls were all there waiting, except for macey. She came out about 30 seconds later with her sunglasses on her head and her iPod dock in hand.

"Let's go have fun!" Liz screamed and we raced out to the backyard.

The first thing we did was plug in Macey's iPod dock. After our summer playlist was blaring across the pool, we put on a combination of tanning oil and sunscreen.

I was the first to finish coating myself in the mixture, so I started dancing around goofily, waiting for the girls. Bex was next and she joined me in hopping around like an idiot.

"Do you guys remember that dance we made up in 7th grade?" Liz asked us

"I haven't thought about that in years!" Bex exclaimed

"Me either" I admitted as I smiled "Hey Mace, do you have 'Evacuate the Dancefloor' by Cascada on your iPod?"

She shrugged "Maybe, will you teach me the dance?"

"Of course!"

"Duh!"

"Why wouldn't we?" We exclaimed, She smiled at us.

"I think I still have it."

And 'have it' she did. We spent the next couple of hours on the sand trying to remember the dance we made up in 7th grade and modifying it to more modern moves. We laughed (Mostly Bex), tripped (Mostly Liz), replayed the song (Mostly Macey) and danced ridiculously (Mostly me). After about 2 and a half hours, we finally had the dance down. It was awesome.

"Food!" my mom called and we ran inside for lunch. We were met with plates of sandwiches and chips. We shoved food into our mouths for a while, then we went back outside.

"As much fun as dancing is," Liz began "can we go swimming now?" she pleaded I looked at Bex.

"Absolutely Lizzie" Bex said sweetly and Liz smiled, then as if by some invisible que, Bex and I picked liz up and threw her into the pool with smiles on our faces

"I should've known something was up!" She exclaimed as she made her way to the side of the pool "You never call me 'Lizzie' unless you're about to prank me!" Bex and I stood by the edge of the pool laughing. In the end, the joke was on us. Macey came up behind us and shoved us forward. Thanks to our spy-like reflexes, we managed to grab her arms and pull her in with us. When we came up for air, we burst out laughing.

We played in the water for hours. We played games like Marco, Polo and Sharks and Minnows but stopped when Liz ran into the side of the pool and got a bloody nose.

"How about we try surfing?" Macey suggested "I saw some boogie boards and surfboards by the side of the house earlier."

"Sure!" Liz exclaimed

"I like a challenge" Bex decided

"What were you doing on the side of the house?" I asked waggling my eyebrows at her. We laughed again and went to find the surfboards. We found half a dozen surfboards and just as many boogie boards. Macey, Bex, and I all grabbed a surfboard but Liz decided to stick with a boogie board. We rinsed the boards off as well as we could with the hose and headed out towards the water.

We quickly discovered a few things. First, we discovered that Bex couldn't stay on a surfboard for longer than 5 seconds at a time. Then we discovered that Macey and I weren't bad at surfing, at least we picked it up pretty quickly. Lastly, we discovered that Liz was better at surfing then all of us combined. She quickly exchanged her boogie board for a surfboard and we spent the rest of the afternoon getting the hang of staying up on the boards.

After a while, my mom called us in for dinner.

"You girls have been out there all afternoon!" my mother exclaimed as we sat down to eat frozen pizza.

"Why is that so surprising?" Macey asked between bites of food.

My mom shrugged "I didn't think it would be this easy to entertain you" she said honestly Bex laughed and I rolled my eyes "I think I'm going to try my hand at surfing with you after dinner" she said thoughtfully. We shrugged indifferently, we just wanted to get back in the water.

"How about we watch a movie tonight?" I asked, after being outside all day I was a little exhausted.

"How about we have a marathon tomorrow?" Bex asked "We could have the first of many lazy days to come" she added with a smile. It sounded amazing

"Sounds good to me" I said

"I could paint everyone's nails!" Macey exclaimed

"Awesome!" Liz said and the plans were set.

After hurriedly washing the dishes, we ran back outside, this time with my mom with us. We showed her where the surfboards were. We grabbed our boards and headed out to the ocean. It was still light out, but the sun had started going down.  
We surfed until the sun was at the end of it's journey. Not surprisingly my mom was amazing at surfing and rivaled even our little Lizzie. As the sun set on an amazing day, my mom went back to shore as we sat holding hands on our boards to keep us close as we watched the colors light up the sky. The silence was comfortable and as I looked to my right and left I knew that these were the best friends I was ever going to have. I squeezed Bex and Macey's hands and they smiled at me. I couldn't wait for the days to come throughout the summer.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry guys, weekends are bad for me/: **

**There have been some guesses as towards the guy in the last chapter and let me just say I'm not quite so cliched as you would believe me to be(: **

Chapter 5

I slept longer for a really long time. It's really incredible, I didn't think I could sleep that long. I wish I could say that I slept in the longest, but Bex beat me by a whole half an hour. Apparently Liz woke up first followed by my mom both of them before 9:00, Macey came not to long after them at 10:00, with Bex and I coming in last around 11:30.

We set up the supplies for our lazy day. I took a shower, and changed into some pj shorts and a t-shirt. I ran a brush through my hair quickly and ran back downstairs to see how the set-up had progressed.

It looked really good. They had arranged the couches and love sacs in a circle and put nail polish, nail polish remover, snacks, and drinks on the table in the middle of the circle. We made some choices on movies and put the first one in to play.

In a true lazy day fashion, we had a fantastic list of Chick Flicks to watch. We had Dirty Dancing, Mean Girls, 13 Going On 30, 50 First Dates and of course, no chick flick marathon is complete without at least one Nicholas Sparks movie so we chose The Notebook. A movie guaranteed to make even Bex cry.

I grabbed a water bottle and leaned back in the couch next to my mom and Liz to watch Dirty Dancing. I loved sitting by Liz during movies, she was quiet and wasn't a blanket hog when it was cool enough to have one, but one of the downsides of sitting with Liz meant that Macey and Bex sat next to each other. That never ended well.

"This movie is so cliche" Bex.

"That's the point, it's a chick flick" Macey.

"When's there gonna be any action."

"There isn't any kind of action you'll like, it's a chick flick" Macey.

"As you mentioned, barely 20 seconds ago" Bex.

"I mentioned again because it didn't seem as if you heard me the first time" Macey.

"I heard you, it just seemed like a lame reason" Bex.

And so it continued for half an hour before my mom finally got sick of it and switched places with Bex. Good news, they stopped arguing. Bad news, she started whispering to me.

"I feel a dance number coming on...Called it." I rolled my eyes and shushed her.

"Abortion is bad!" Bex threw a gummy bear at the screen

"And he looks her lovingly in the eyes…" She narrated I slapped her arm and winced as she punched me back.

"Public Display of Affection," she covered my eyes "this isn't for children to see" I ripped her hands away from my eyes and slapped arm again.

"The dancing even isn't that good, I could do this in my sleep" she complained.

After about 45 minutes of this, the movie was almost over and I was so sure that I could handle her until the end of the movie, then I could switch with Liz and it would be fine.

"Oh no! Here comes daddy! Ten bucks says she sneaks out to see him." Bex whispered in my ear. "Hey, she snuck out just like you did, I so called it." I took a deep breath and turned back to the screen. "That guy's dumb!" she claimed moments later "he's going to go to jail for no reason!" And I snapped. I shoved Bex as hard as I could and she tumbled on the floor.

I started laughing at the look on Bex's face. She looked so surprised and I just couldn't help it. Soon Liz joined in with me and then we were all laughing. After a few minutes Bex started laughing with us, we laughed so hard for so long we missed the end of the movie.

"Okay, I'm going to start painting nails now." Macey said as she slid to the floor. "Liz first"

We put in Mean Girls and this time I joined Bex in quoting things from the movie moments after they happened. We laughed at the over exaggerations for a while, then Macey called me down to get my nails painted. She had painted Liz's fingernails a pretty turquoise color and her toes a silver color.

She handed me a coral color and a white one with a question in her eyes. Would these work? I nodded my permission and she got to work. She had done Liz's nails with just the solid color on her fingers and toes but she got creative on mine. She did white dots on the coral on all my fingers except for the fourth one, she painted that one plain white. On my toes, she did the reverse. She put the overcoat on first, which struck me a little odd but she gave me a look that said 'trust me' so I let her. She put over coat on again when my nails were dry and she sent me back to watch the movie and called Bex.

After Bex, my mom did Macey's nails and Macey did my mom's nails after. Bex had a mix of black and red on her nails. It was so Bex. My mom did Macey's nails with neon pink and gray and my mom had blue and green nails. They looked great.

We sat down in the circle again to watch the end of the movie, when my mom dropped a bomb on us.

"So, Mr Solomon might stop by sometime soon." she announced

"What?" we all asked simultaneously and she smiled.

"Joe Solomon, your CoveOps teacher, might stop by in the next week or so."

"Why?" Bex, Macey, and I all voiced. I think Liz was in shock.

She shrugged. "Just to say 'hi' I suppose."

"When did he tell you he would be 'dropping in'?" Bex asked in her british accent.

"He called last night" she said, sounding nonchalant.

"Is there something else you're not telling us?" I asked suspiciously. Joe Solomon didn't 'stop by'.

"That's it!" she said as nonchalantly as possible, which only made me more suspicious. It was obvious that we wouldn't get anymore information out of her, so I let it go. I saw the girls eye her suspiciously one last time, then turn back to their individual activities.

"Okay, it's officially late enough that I want food" I said as I jumped to my feet and Bex followed right after. My mom stretched and stood up with us.

"How about breakfast for dinner? That's one thing I never managed to mess up." she suggested.

"Yes!" Liz exclaimed and ran to the kitchen to start pulling out ingredients. We giggled a little at our over-enthusiastic friend.

"You know, I don't think I've ever made my own breakfast before." Macey said as she hauled herself to her feet.

"Really?" Bex and I asked simultaneously. We looked at each other and laughed.

My mom threw her arm around Macey's shoulder "Well there is a first time for everything" she said as she herded us towards the kitchen. "Bex, you start mixing some scrambled eggs, Liz you can start on the pancake batter, Macey, you and Cam can pull out the bacon and I'll fry up some potatoes."

We all set to work. Macey and I dodge hot grease and grappled for space in front of the stove. About half way into our cooking, the kitchen smelled amazing. My stomach started to growl. Macey giggled.

I glanced over at her. "What are you laughing at?"

She smiled at me "You. Actually, more like your stomach." Just then her stomach growled. I laughed for a minute and she joined in.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who's hungry" I got in between giggles. We flipped the bacon one last time and put it on a plate covered in paper towels to help drain some of the grease.

We placed it on the table just as everyone else finished with their food. We put plates, cups, milk, syrup, butter, peanut butter, salt, and pepper on the table and sat down to eat. We all grabbed a healthy amount of each food and settled down to eat.

We sat making idle chatter, when my mom's phone rang.

"Hello?" We all sat frozen hoping to catch the other end of the conversation. "Hi Joe!" We all perked up even more. "Yeah I told them. They seemed excited. Tomorrow? Okay see you then!" she hung up her phone.

"Joe Solomon is coming?"

"He's going to be here tomorrow?"

"Why is he coming?"

"Are we going on a mission?"

"How long is he staying?"

"_Where_ is he staying?"

"Are you and Joe Solomon dating?"

"GIRLS!" She interrupted our interrogation. "Joseph Solomon and I are just friends" she said with a pointed look at Macey who asked the question. "He will be staying here with us, yes he'll be here tomorrow morning, we are not going on a mission, and he will stay as long as he pleases" she finished with a breath out. "Any more questions? Good"

She totally didn't give us a chance to answer, I for one had plenty of questions, for example WHAT was going on? My roommates and I exchanged looks, tonight we would explore any and all possibilities.

I crept silently towards Bex's room with Macey at my side. We decided to meet in Bex's room because it was the farthest to the stairs, at least that's what we told Bex. It was really to make sure she was awake at this important meeting.

Liz was already there when we reached Bex's room. As soon as Macey shut the door, we exploded in whispers.

"I can't believe _Solomon_ is coming _here_." Bex said

"Imagine what Tina would say if she found out" Macey said thoughtfully.

"She is NOT going to find out, right?" I said forcefully looking each of my friends in the eye. "How much time do we have before Solomon get's here?" I asked Liz.

"Seven hours and 14 minutes. Approximately" she said tiredly. She looked like she was going to fall asleep. We stayed up later than normal watching the last three movies on our list. And then another one. Joe Solomon was predicted to appear at 0900 hours at least. We planned to be up and ready for the day to catch any information on why he was here.

"As much fun as guessing what Joe Solomon might be doing is, we should probably get some rest. I want to do your hair tomorrow." she said looking at me. I nodded in reply.

"Night guys" I said as Macey and I headed back across the hall. I assume Liz decided to go back to her room later.

Macey and I parted ways with a small wave and I crashed on my bed. I wasn't sure about a lot of things, but one thing I was positive of this, tomorrow was going to be one heck of a day.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N So Super Sorry, it was impossible to get on the computer this week. Things might get a little confusing in this chapter, so bear with me, I'll try to clear up what has happened and hasn't happened towards the end of the chapter**

Chapter 6

At precisely 7:30 the next morning, we woke up and began preparing for the day. We kept our eyes out for anything out of place as we got dressed, we searched for anything unusual as we did our hair and looked for anything strange as we ate breakfast. We maintained constant vigilance. All the while I was running different scenarios of what Joe Solomon was doing coming to visit us. Almost none of them were very good, and the few that were good, were less than unlikely. I know, I had Liz check my math.

At precisely 9:15, an approaching car could be heard. Not a moment later, it pulled into the driveway and we went to greet our guest. The second he got out of the car, he called out to us.

"Surprise summer homework." he carried his bags to the door, threw them inside and then lead us back out into the car. My mom sat in the front next to him as Macey, Bex, Liz, and I climbed in the back seat. Bex volunteered to go all the way in the back to the set of three seats behind me Macey and Liz.

"Your objective is simply ladies" My mom surprised us all by breaking the silence. "Keep your eyes open for anything and anyone. We'll be around if you need anything." She handed us each a 50 dollar bill. "I presume you have com units?" She asked. We pulled them out of our pockets and turned them on. It wasn't likely we would leave each others sides but if we did, we had a way to keep in touch.

"We don't plan to leave until 11:00 tonight, you have the whole day for this ladies. Good luck" Mr Solomon said as he pulled the car to a stop a few yards from the beach. Scratch that, from the beach _carnival_. He smiled "and have some fun."

We climbed out of the car and stood for a minute just taking in our surroundings. We had placed our coms in our ears while we were still in the car. We had the volume down and would turn it up if we needed them.

"If you guys don't mind, I'd rather not stand here all day." Macey said as she fell flawlessly into her cover, a harsher version of herself. She walked off towards the carnival with the rest of us falling in behind her.

Our official cover for the summer was pretty much the same as when we went into town back at Gallagher. We were a bunch of prissy rich girls. Macey had been doing this flawlessly since day one and Bex took to it pretty quickly too. Liz and I had a more subtle approach. We were obviously rich, yet we had quieter personalities. Mostly we took some of our traits and put them to the extremes.

"Ooooo, can we get churros?" Bex asked excitedly.

"Yeah!" I agreed, churros sounded insanely good. I whipped around to look at liz but in doing so I made a 180 and got a good look at our surroundings. Nothing suspicious yet.

"Sounds good to me." Liz said as she shrugged her shoulders. We all turned to look at macey. She rolled her eyes.

"Fine." We herded ourselves to the nearest churro line.

"What can I get for you girls?" The vendor asked us kindly. He was an older man, a little on the chubby side.

"Four churros" Macey said as she handed him her $50 bill.

"I'm going to have to get change for you young ladies, just one moment." He walked out of earshot, pulled out a phone, and held it to his ear.

"This guy seems a little too familiar if you catch my drift" Bex whispered without moving her lips.

"He's too suspicious, we need to keep an eye out for him" I said back in the same tone.

"What makes you say that?" Liz asked as she pretended to play with her hair.

"When he pulled out his phone, he didn't dial a number" I said as I bent down to fix my shoelaces.

He walked back towards us with a huge smile on his face. It seemed almost...youthful. "Well ladies, I will have the rest of your change in a moment, for now, enjoy your churros." He said as he handed each of us one.

There wasn't really an opportunity for him to poison it, so we all started eating. I kept an eye out for my mom and Mr Solomon. I wanted to figure out what was going on. A few minutes later, a short man a few years older than the churro man appeared.

"You needed change?" He said as he walked up to churro man. He seemed to say it a little louder than necessary, as if he wanted the people around him to hear.

"Yessir, for a 50." Churro man replied.

"Well heck, you didn't mention it was a 50, I only got fifteen bucks on me, I'll call Ryan." Short guy said.

"Just get him over here quick, they've waited long enough." Churro man said impatiently. "Have him bring Beck too, I need him to make a supply run."

Short guy pulled out his phone, and again, put it right to his ear. He spoke into his 'phone' for a few seconds then came back and stood next to us. He hitched his pants up and tried to act nonchalant. He would've been fine, if he hadn't so obviously forced his mannerisms. A few minutes later, yet another guy showed up. This guy was the worst one yet. He looked too aged, like he was trying to act a whole lot older than he was. It was so obviously a disguise. This whole situation rubbed me the wrong way.

"You need change? How much?" New guy asked.

"Forty bucks." Churro guy replied. New guy whistled.

"That's a lot of cash." Regardless of how much he thought it was, he pulled out his wallet and pulled two twenty's out. "Here's your forty." Just then their last friend appeared. When I saw the disguise, everything clicked into place.

"What's up guys?" a rough old man voiced.

"Really Zach?" I asked "That disguise again? It seems to be a favorite of yours lately." A teasing tone took over my voice. He smiled  
"You figured that out a lot quicker this time." He was wearing essentially the same thing he wore all during the campaign, there were some minor coloring differences, but I could spot that particular disguise from a mile away. "Hi Macey, Liz, Bex" he nodded to each of them in turn.

"Hi Zach, Jonas, Grant, and…?" Macey trailed off. I took it upon myself to pull pieces off of the poorly disguised man.

"Preston." I answered for her. Macey gave him a wild look.

"Preston Winters?" Bex asked her british accent leaking in. Preston Winters was the son of the man running with Macey's dad for president. They had met a few months ago, luckily I was there to keep her from hurting the kid, she found him seriously annoying.

He looked sheepish "Hi Mace…"

"Well fine, don't acknowledge the rest of us" Bex muttered under her breath and I couldn't help but giggle.

"You're getting better Gallagher Girl." Zach said switching back to his regular voice. "Come on guys, we're obviously caught, let's go change." Grant or 'churro man' placed a closed sign on the churro cart, grabbed the last churro's on the cart and began to eat them as the boys walked off towards the bathrooms. We trailed behind them so when could question them when they were done changing. A few minutes later, the 4 boys we knew came out of the bathroom.

"Let's head to the boardwalk," Liz suggested.

"Good idea," Jonas readily agreed

I turned to walk in the direction of the boardwalk and Zach fell into step with me.

"So Gallagher Girl, how've you been?" He smirked at me, I resisted the urge to snort.

"You know, same old same old." I said nonchalantly. I knew I couldn't keep him guessing for long, he probably already knew more about what I had been up to then I did. I shrugged my shoulders. "What about you?" I tried to turn the conversation back to him, but he took it in stride.

"Nothing you should worry about." That stupid smirk was infuriating, yet Zach didn't really seem like Zach without it. I would never admit this out loud, but I kind of missed it.

"When did Preston start going to Blackthorne?" I turned the conversation around completely.

"He started up around the time we left for the exchange. He had to hang back and work on catching up to us." He seemed a little smug and not for the first time, I wanted to smack him. We approached the tons of games and contests they had out for tourists.

"Why don't we play some games?" Bes suggested with a confident tone. I knew we were about to witness a competition between Bex and Grant. This should be interesting.

"Really?" Macey asked "We're gonna be that cliche?" she looked a little annoyed at the idea. I'm not going to lie, I wasn't psyched about the idea but…

"Blending in Mace," I said a little solemnly "It's one of our main goals today." She didn't look happy about the idea but nodded.

Bex grinned "Excellent." I felt sorry for Grant, until I saw he had the same look on his face. They turned to the nearest game and slapped bills down on the counter. The rest of us held back, I didn't want to get in the middle of that.

"How about we head over there?" Zach suggested as he pointed to a game across the street. It was a darts game, I could handle darts.

"Sure." I agreed we strolled over the game, with Liz and Jonas heading to the game next to us. Macey and Preston had decided to try their luck against each other at the booth next to Bex and Grant. I placed my 50 on the counter, but Zach pressed it back into my hands.

"I got this." He winked at me and I held back both my blush and my annoyance. The guy running the game handed us each 5 darts. I hesitantly took aim. I didn't want to over achieve so I acted like I didn't know what I was doing.

I took aim for the wall. I knew I would miss, but if I hit all of them someone might get suspicious. Zach smiled at my 'attempt' as I made a wild throw at the wall. He also knew I could hit it, but apparently couldn't resist.

"Here," He said as he placed his arms around me and 'helped me' take aim. I will never admit how safe I felt with his arms around me, with his scent overcoming me he smelled like something that I could only describe as _Zach. _Together we threw a perfect shot and hit the balloon right in the middle. We threw the rest of them in rapid succession hitting the rest of them. Apparently discretion wasn't his specialty. Or maybe he just didn't care.

The guy running the booth was impressed. "You get two prizes." He said with eyebrows raised. I chose a blue stuffed monkey and Zach chose the pink stuffed monkey. I raised my eyebrows a little on his choice but didn't comment.

"Let's see who's winning the competition." I said, he nodded in agreement as we walked to our group of friends. We joined Macey and Preston and watched as Bex and Grant played skee ball to send a horse from one end of the booth to the other. Bex was in the lead and made every ball into the top slot.

"Who won the last round?" Zach asked

"Bex." Macey said with pride in her voice and we smiled at our over competitive friend.

Bex won by a landslide. Grant didn't seem to take it too hard. I wondered if he was throwing the game but as we progressed through the rest of the games on the boardwalk it was obvious he wasn't. Bex totally killed him in every game. She soon had a ton of prizes to cart around with her. She and Grant each chose one and gave the rest to some kids who hadn't won anything yet. Their parents didn't seem too happy but we ignored their looks.

"Let's get corndogs!" Liz suggested as we finished the last game.

"Yeah," Jonas agreed "There's a cart right over there." He pointed across the beach.

We headed towards the cart making idle chatter, we ate quickly. In the midday sun, it was burning hot. I let out a breath.

"Anyone else dying of heat?" I asked sarcastically.

"Yes!" Macey agreed

"Oh sorry," Zach said "I'll leave" his smirk seemed to be directed right at me. Macey, Bex, Liz and I rolled our eyes in synchronization. I thought I saw Jonas roll his eyes as well.

"There's a boutique right over there." Macey pointed out. "We could go buy something to get wet in and go swimming."

"We're almost of money" I reminded her.

"I have my card." She said pulling her credit card out of her back pocket. "Besides, you definitely need a bathing suit." I couldn't argue with that.

"We'll back in a few minutes." Liz said as we started towards the small shop.

"Whoa there," Preston said as they ran to catch up to us "we want to come too!"

"Hmm, can't imagine why." Macey said sarcastically but didn't comment on their accompanying us. As we reached the little shop, Macey immediately pulled us over to the bikini's.

She handed me a bikini with high waisted black bottoms, and a neon pink bandeau top and told me to try it on. I waited for her to hand one to Liz as well and we walked back to the changing rooms together. Liz had a neon blue bandeau top to go with bottoms like mine.

The swimsuit fit well. "Hey Liz, do you have yours on yet?" I called to her in the room next to mine.

"Yeah." She replied

"Good, come out here, I want to see them." Macey called. I stepped out of the dressing room to see Macey holding a neon green top and shorts like mine and Liz's. Of course, in true Bex fashion she had a blood red top with the same shorts as the rest of us. She looked us over.

"Wow." I just barely heard a small voice say from my right. I looked over to see Zach staring at me and I forced down a blush. I resisted the urge to cross my arms over my chest. I looked to his left to see Jonas blushing a bright red, Liz looked a little pink too but looked confident.

Macey nodded at the both of us. "Good, go grab your stuff, we'll wear them out." She instructed us. We nodded and bundled our clothes.

"We'll take it over to the car" I told liz as she held her clothes uncertainly.

"Great idea," Bex said as she exited her dressing room. I swear Grant's jaw dropped. I held back a giggle, but no one's reaction topped Prestons. He saw Macey and started to pass out, Grant and Zach caught him and slapped him to bring him to his senses. We burst into laughter.

"Come on guys." Macey led us to the counter. We payed then walked over to the car and shoved our stuff into the back seat.

"Can we put our stuff in here too?" Grant asked us.

"Sure" I said and the boys pulled off their shirts. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. With spies you come to expect everyone to have fit bodies, but _wow_. You gotta hand it to blackthorne, they know how to train their boys. I have never seen such perfectly sculpted bodies, even Jonas and Preston. Zach caught me looking at him.

"Like what you see?" He teased me but I refused to let him make me embarrassed.

"Not as much as you did, unfortunately" I said cheekily. That got a laugh out of Bex.

The boy's apparently knew we were coming to the beach because they all wore swim trunks under their shorts. Grant even had a necklace under his shirt, like a surfer you would see on a really cheesy movie. We shut the car and headed for the sand. We found a place that had less people than the rest of the beach. I pulled my hair tie off my wrist and began to put my hair in a ponytail. As I finished wrapping my hair tie around my hair, I felt strong arms wrap around my waist.

I could tell immediately from the smell that it was Zach, so I stuck to my cover and let out a girly scream and clung to him. I tried not to notice how strong his shoulders were, but it's impossible not too when you're in that position. Man, his shoulders were _strong_.

We hit the water and Zach turned around and fell on his back into the water. When we came up, I looked at the shore to see our friends laughing at us, I couldn't help but laugh along with them. I heard Zach's low chuckle in my ear and I turned to face him.

The waves crashed against us as I tightened my ponytail. Zach reached around and wound my hair through his fingers. "You look great Gallagher Girl." I couldn't help it, I blushed.

"You don't look to bad yourself." I said back and his smirk turned to a grin.

"I realized something when we left after the exchange," he said "I never officially asked you to be my girlfriend, so I'll do it now. Will you be my girlfriend Cammie?" I acted thoughtful for a minute.

"Of course!" I smiled and kissed him, he didn't hesitate to kiss me back.

I heard Grant's whistles and Bex's calls all the way down in the water, but I didn't stop kissing him until Macey stepped in.

"Alright Cam that's enough! People are starting to stare!" She yelled. That got me to pull away quick. Zach smirked at me then wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Come on in guys, the water's fine!" He called to our friends on the beach. Bex and Grant raced towards us and tackled us back under the water. We came up laughing when Bex declared a chicken fight.

"I don't know Bex, there are a lot of people around." I said uncertainly.

"Come on Cam," Zach said as he pulled me towards him "I won't let you fall, trust me." I nodded and went to climb on his shoulders. "Wrap your feet around my back." He whispered in my ear. I smiled to show I understood and climbed up onto his shoulders. I wrapped my feet around his back and he placed his hands on my knees to keep me balanced, as if I needed help. Grant and Zach stood in front of each other, I made the first move.

I reached forward and tried to push Bex to the side, she recovered quickly, and tried to counter. With my feet around Zach's back to keep me balanced, it didn't effect me at all. She frowned and I took the opportunity to shove her backwards. She tried to grab onto Grant but was too late and she fell backwards, taking Grant down with her. Zach and I cheered.

"Cammie, be careful up there!" Liz called to me as she and Jonas waded over to us. Preston appeared to be trying to persuade Macey to come get into the water but soon gave up.

I laughed a little "It'll be okay Lizzie."

"Don't be so sure!" Zach called as he turned and once again fell backwards into the water, taking me down with him. I came up laughing as I swatted him playfully.

"Will you guys help me get Macey down here?" Preston asked as he walked into the cool ocean water.

"Sure, stay down here." Bex said

"We'll be back in a minute." I said as the girls and I headed back towards shore. At the last second, someone's hand enclosed by wrist and Zach whirled me back around and kissed me softly. I opened my eyes to see him smiling, yes actually smiling, at me.

"Don't take too long." He said

I smiled at him "We won't don't worry" I turned around again to see a mischievous look in Bex's eyes. Oh this was so planned out. I took a deep breath and walked up the beach in the Florida heat. Time for interrogation.

As we got closer to Macey she sat up and Liz and Bex sandwiched me between them.

"Cameron Ann Morgan, what on earth was _that_?" Macey asked with the biggest grin on her face. From her tone you could tell she wasn't angry but she was serious. Answers would be heard one way or another, so I decided to go the easy way. I plopped myself down in front of Macey and began to relay the tale starting from when Zach picked me up.

Throughout my story the girls laughed or awed but one thing remained constant, they smiled the entire time.

"Remind me to interrogate the boy." Bex said thoughtfully.

"I'll help." Liz said

"Me too." Macey said

"So will I," My mom said as she and Mr Solomon walked over. "Who are we interrogating?" she asked

"Zach" Macey answered.

"Oh good, I want to help too." Mr Solomon added in "Why are we interrogating him?" He asked.

Macey gave them a shortened version of the events. Mr Solomon got an evil grin on his face.

"I _really_ want to help." I raised my eyebrows at him

"Any specific reason?" I asked him, eyeing my mother.

"Other than the obvious?" he seemed confused

"There's an obvious reason?" Now it was my turn to be confused.

"Well, with your father MIA, it falls to his best friend to play the part of over protective role model." My mom explained.

"And here I was thinking it fell to me." Bex said sourly. She didn't like the idea of someone trying to take over for my dad, I didn't either as a matter of fact luckily for me Bex knew that and expressed it for me.

"Trust me, I'm not here to take any one's place, I'm just here to lend a helping hand." He explained, almost as if he could read our minds.

"So you admit that's why you're here this summer?" I asked eyeing him. The interrogation seemed to have changed from me to Joe Solomon, which was a pleasant surprise.

"I never admitted to anything," he said calmly "look, here come your boyfriends."

"I don't have a boyfriend!" Liz exclaimed

My friends immediately broke into defensive arguments

"You think I would date _that_?" Macey asked incredulously

"Puh-lease, I have standards!" Bex said acting out a bratty american perfectly, which led me to believe she was lying.

"Hi guys!" I called to Zach, Jonas, Grant, and Preston as soon as they got close enough to hear the girls. I figured it would get my friends to stop talking.

Zach came up and sat behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, Preston shook his hair, getting Macey wet, Jonas stood shyly by Liz, and Grant went up to Bex and threw his arm around her shoulder just to get elbowed in the gut. He then retreated to a more respectable distance. Smart boy.

"So guys, what've you been up to today?" Mr S asked with a pointed look at Zach.

"Oh, you know, games, swimming, walking, talking, that sort of thing." Zach answered nonchalantly. "Actually, we came up here to see if the girls wanted to rent some surfboards, maybe we could get them to stand up on them before the day is over." I resisted the urge to slap him, this could work to our advantage.

Slowly, carefully, I made eye contact with each of my friends "I don't know, it sounds kinda hard…" I said shyly. My friends caught on immediately.

"Yeah," Liz agreed "I'm clumsy enough on land, imagine what would happen if I got on the water" she acted scared, so Jonas jumped to reassure her.

"It's not that hard Lizzie, besides if I can do it, you can too" He smiled at her.

"I really don't want to get my hair wet, but if the girls try it, I will too" Macey said confidently.

"I'm always up for a challenge." Bex said punching her hand. "You ready for this Cam?" she asked me.

I bit my lip uncertainly. "I suppose…" I trailed off.

"Don't worry Gallagher Girl, I won't let you get hurt." Zach whispered in my ear. I tried so hard not to roll my eyes.

"Lizzie?" I asked her.

"Well...I guess…" she said clenching her fists. The boys gave each other looks, we were in, they totally fell for it.

My mom gave us each 20 bucks to go rent surfboards for the rest of the day, after we all had our boards, we went for the water. We went out a few yards from shore, and the boys asked us to get on our boards.

"Okay, it's really pretty simple, when you see a wave paddle out in front of it and then when the water catches the board, stand up." Grant explained. This time I rolled my eyes.

"Sounds easy enough." Bex caught my eyes and I have to admit, she did a really good job of acting like she was uncertain. She gave me a 'reassuring' smile.

"Here comes a wave, try to catch it." Zach called "Wow, here come a bunch of waves, the surf looks good, go for it girls, we'll watch you and give you advice when you need it." I didn't fail to notice how he said _when_ instead of _if_.

The girls and I paddled out of earshot, towards the approaching waves. "Bex, you go first, they'll be expecting you to be able to at least catch a wave, Mace you head out after, show 'em what you got, I'll go after you, and Lizzie make them pay for ever doubting us." I instructed.

"Wow Cam, you devious little thinker, you" Macey winked at me "I'm so proud, we've taught you well." She and Bex slapped each others hands.

"I'm heading out!" Bex called and we cheered her on. She caught the wave perfectly, she started heading towards the boys and Macey Liz and I ducked under her wave.

"Wish me luck!" Macey called as she went for her wave. She looked perfect as she started to glide over the water.

"Show them what you got Lizzie!" I called as I headed for my wave.

"You got this Cam!" She called back to me.

I paddled like crazy to catch the wave, I wasn't too nervous, we'd been surfing the whole day before. I finally felt my board get stuck in the edge of the wave, I stood up just in time to see Liz duck under the wave. I smiled as I felt the wind roll over me as I approached my friends. The boys all had slack jaws and Bex and Macey were clapping and calling. I made a hang loose sign as I neared them and jumped off my board and swam towards them.

I fell into line next to Macey just in time to see Liz catch her wave. The thing was a monster she took it in stride. She held her own on the water with ease and even got in the tube. She jumped off right before she hit us. She surfaced next to us with a grin on her face. We cheered and clapped as she bent at the waist in a little bow. We looked over at the boys, who all had big eyes. I haven't laughed that hard in forever.

"How!" Was all Jonas was able to get out. His words seemed to knock the boys out of their stupor and Zach and Grant composed themselves.

"I take it you girls have surfed before?" Zach asked

"Once, yesterday." Macey answered.

"You can't fool us McHenry, that kind of skill doesn't come from one day of surfing that comes from years of experience." Grant argued.

"Hate to break it to you, but yesterday really was the first time any of us have surfed." Bex told them.

Preston snorted "Yeah, sure whatever you say Baxter" He said rudely as he turned away from us. I saw Bex's temper flare. I paddled myself backwards as she launched herself at Preston. We let her pummel him for a few seconds than Macey and I swam forwards and pulled her off of him.

"That was a bad move on your part Winters" I said coldly.

"At least you guys learned a valuable lesson today." Macey said in the same tone.

"And what would that be?" Jonas asked nervously

"Never underestimate a Gallagher Girl." Liz said.

"We thought after spending a semester with us you would've known better" Bex said as she rearranged her hair.

"You can't blame the guy, he was hoping for an easy way to spend the day," Zach said "we all were." Macey obviously heard something that I didn't.

"You mean an easy way to get some action." Macey retorted. "I would bet that it was Prestons idea. He probably told you the benefits and you all thought it would be good fun."

The look on Jonas' face gave them away. At least one of them had a conscience.

I looked at Zach accusingly. "What a pigheaded thing to do."

"I couldn't agree more." Bex said "But these Blackthorne Boys forgot one crucial thing."

"And what would that be?" Grant asked sarcastically.

"These aren't just girls," Zach added in "they're Gallagher Girls."

"Precisely." I stared at him.

"Well, now that we're all on the same page," Bex said "let's see if you guys can surf as well as you claim." She broke into a grin "Wouldn't want you to be shown up by a bunch of girls now would we?" And just like that, all was forgiven. Gallagher Girls were just as moody as other girls, but this was our summer, and we weren't about to let some guys ruin it a few days in.

"Well ladies," Grant started "Sit back, relax and enjoy the show." The boys paddled out to try and catch some waves. We faced our boards towards the horizon and linked our ankles underwater to keep together.

Jonas went first, he was actually pretty good. He managed to catch his wave as quickly as any of us had. Next was Preston, you could tell he wasn't the best in the group, he wobbled to his feet but didn't fall which was impressive for someone who hadn't been training to have perfect balance his whole life. Grant decided to show off a little bit, when he climbed to his feet he almost immediately went into a hand-stand. He lifted one hand off his board and started doing a weird push-up thing one handed on his board, it was actually impressive until he got tossed off his board. We laughed a little but he came up smiling. You gotta love it when someone can laugh at their mistakes or failures.

Zach went last. He too decided to show off. He stood, then sat, then lounged, then spun, then jumped off his board in a perfect front flip. He landed in a dive a few feet in front of us. Apparently he took his ankle band off because his board started to float away. Liz made a wild grab for it when he popped up in front of me. He braced his hands on my board and kissed me. He kept himself up on the board as one hand moved to cradle my face. I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around his neck but still kept us upright.

Cat calls and whistles soon followed. I couldn't help but wonder if they would ever get sick of that.

"I'm going to drown you two if you don't knock it off!" Macey's cynical response came. I pulled away but laughed.

"Wow McHenry," Zach said "you're so nice, said no one ever." He said in a teasing voice. Macey smiled then reached over and shoved him backwards, rocking my board. I moved back a little farther on my board, I couldn't help but smile a bit, after all it was a little funny.

"Cam, you're boyfriend's a jerk." She said as she dusted off her hands

All the sudden, Zach jumped out of the water and landed on the front of my board, almost sending us into the water. I shrieked a little and moved back to balance it.

"What about me?" He asked. I could hear the smirk on his face.

"Get that smirk of your face Goode!" Macey responded. I so called it.

"Geez, you two fight like an old married couple!" I teased.

"Do not!" The responded in unison.

The rest of us burst into laughter. Zach moved closer to the middle of the board, and I did too.

"Hey Zach," Liz asked in between giggles "do you want your board back?"

He shrugged "Eventually, for now, I'm perfect right where I am." We had reached the middle of the board, so he reached around and grabbed my arms, wrapping them around his waist. I leaned up against his admittedly very muscular back. Out on the ocean there was a cool breeze, and even though we were in Florida, he was very warm. It was pretty comfortable.

"Anybody know what time it is?" Preston asked.

"5:33" The rest of us responded in unison.

"Man, where has the day gone?" He asked rhetorically. The boys paddled in front of us to make a oval/circle shaped thing so we could talk better.

Jonas began to answer his question. "Well, the day started when-"

"Rhetorical question J-Man" Grant cut him off.

"Man I hate those." He said Liz reached over and patted his hand.

"Me too." She smiled at him. They sat there looking at each other for a while until Grant began to narrate.

"She looked lovingly into his eyes, and in his mind, it seemed that no one would ever be more perfect-OW!" Bex slapped him, hard.

"Oooo." I said in sympathy, you could already see the red mark forming. With any luck it wouldn't bruise. "Does anybody else want food?" I asked changing the subject.

I was met with a chorus of yeah's. "Let's go see if Rachel and Mr. Solomon want to go out to eat." Macey suggested

"Last one back's a rotten egg!" I exclaimed as I shoved Zach sideways off my board. The girls laughed as we paddled to catch the closest wave.

We made our way to shore with relative ease. We grabbed our boards and sprinted up the beach towards my mom and a laughing Solomon. We landed in a heap in front of them, none of us breathing heavily. The boys came a few seconds after piling on top of us. We groaned when their weight hit us.

"So," I began "why don't we go out to dinner?" I asked my mom.

"Not now, we're staying until 11:00 remember?" she said

"But we're hungry now." I retorted

"Then go get food, there are plenty of things open." She suggested

"We're out of money." I replied

"Already?" She asked.

"Bex and Grant played every game." I said. She looked up at the sky like 'what am I going to do with you?' Then replied

"Alrighty then." She reached down into her purse, she then handed me $150 "We can make something back at the house a little later, but for now this is all you get. Go get something to hold you over and ride the ferris wheel or something. If you use too much energy we'll have to buy more food."

"Thanks mom!" I replied inching forward to grab the money. Everyone else jumped up making it easier to move.

"Thanks Mrs. Morgan!" They replied except for Grant who yelled. "Thanks mom!" I laughed at him and slapped him lightly on the head. "Does that mean I can join the family? Cause your mom is so much cooler than mine!" Everybody else ran off, I don't know why, I had the money.

I rolled my eyes at him "Sure Grant, you can be my adopted son." My mom replied with a smile on her face, she would never admit it but she always wanted a son before she had a daughter.

"Really?" My mom nodded, and weirdly enough he seemed sincere. "Sweet!"

"I've always wanted a brother!" I yelled truthfully, maybe my mom wasn't the only one who wished that she had a boy first.

"You're probably gonna regret getting stuck with me!" he yelled back.

"I seriously doubt it!" I said crossing my arms.

"Go!" My mom said as she laughed and shooed us with her hands.

Grant ran forward and threw me over his shoulder.

"Whoa!" I said as the world was tipped upside down.

"Told you!" he said as he took off running to catch up with our friends.

I started laughing at his giddiness and he chuckled along with me. I could picture his grin and it just made me laugh harder, which made Grant laugh harder. When we reached our friends I could barely breathe.

He set me down on the ground and I clutched my sides and continued to laugh, when I saw Grant doubled over in laughter I could barely stand up straight I clutched his shoulder to keep myself up right.

"I feel like we missed some big joke." Macey said. There was actually nothing that was funny, and when I came to this realization I only laughed harder, taking wheezing breaths when I could.

"Yup, we missed something." Bex said, by this time Liz and Jonas were starting to laugh too. When Preston started laughing, I fell to the ground, his laugh was hilarious. I've never tested the theory that laughter was contagious but right then I knew it was true because before you knew it we were all rolling on the ground laughing. It came to the point where Grant wasn't even making noise.

By the time we all calmed down, we were wiping tears from our eyes. I leaned back against Zach and took deep breaths. We all sat there in the middle of the dock for a few minutes.

"Do we get to know what's so funny now?" Macey asked. I started to giggle again. Liz held out a hand to stop me.

"Please, no more," She said with a smile on her face "I can't handle anymore."

Zach wrapped his arms around my waist as I tried to explain. "There isn't really anything that's funny." I said as I made eye contact with Grant.

"Then why were you laughing so hard?" Zach asked confused.

"Well, it started out with me imagining Grant's grin as we were running over here, then we just started laughing and couldn't stop" I explained.

"Yeah, about that, why were you carrying Cammie?" Zach asked Grant. The possessive undertone in his voice made me smile.

"Oh yeah, I've been adopted as Cammie's big brother, so you're gonna have to go through me to get to her, and if you hurt her, I'll pummel you." Grant puffed out his chest and I tried not to laugh.

"Okay then." Zach said as he chuckled in my ear.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, so Grant is an official sibling and I'm not?" Bex asked offended. I couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Come on Bex, we've been sisters since the day we met! Same with Liz and Macey. I figured it just kind of went without saying, but if it makes you feel better, you're now officially my sister." I smiled at her and she nodded in contentment.

"Let's get food now," I said as I grabbed Zachs' hand and pulled us both to our feet. "I'm still starving."

"Corn dogs sound good to everyone else?" Jonas asked.

With all replies positive, we bought as many corn dogs as we could carry, sat down and pigged out. After our extremely unhealthy snack, we had just enough to ride the ferris wheel.

We bought our tickets and got in line, unfortunately it seemed that everyone else at the beach got in line before us, it look like a good hour and a half wait. We figured we might as well wait in line, go for one last swim then chill on the beach until 11.

"Okay, seeing as we'll be here for a while, let's play a game." Macey suggested.

"Can it be 'let's see who can run to the car the fastest and get jackets'?" Liz asked and I agreed with her. It was getting colder and the girls and I were still only in our bikini's.

Bex rolled her eyes. "It's not that cold." She folded her arms and popped a hip. She kind of reminded me of Abby for a second, but then that image was gone and all I could see was pure Bex.

"Come on Bex, me and you can grab stuff from the car and be right back. It'll be faster than anything else." Grant suggested. Bex thought about it then nodded. "Race you there!" He yelled as he took off towards the car. I saw Bex get a competitive look in her eyes as she sprinted after him.

"Seriously though, let's play a game." Macey said getting back to her main point.

"Can't it wait 'til they get back?" I pleaded, I knew whatever game it was it would involved some major embarrassment on my part. She rolled her eyes.

"Fine." We stood in silence listening to the chatter of those around us. In the distance you could hear the music from the ferris wheel.

A few minutes later, we saw a rumpled looking Bex and Grant walking towards us holding hands. I made careful eye contact with Liz and Macey, they saw it too.

"Hey guys!" Grant greeted us cheerfully. We all eyed their hands but they seemed to ignore the hint. They handed us t-shirts to put on to help keep us warm.

"I need to go to the bathroom," Liz suddenly announced and Macey caught on fast.

"Me too, I want to check my hair. Wanna come with us Cam?" She looked at me meaningfully yet still casually.

"Sure, come on Bex." I grabbed her arm and I knew she wouldn't dare fight me in the middle of public. She kissed Grant on the check and I pulled harder.

"Bye, be back soon." She whispered and we walked towards the bathroom. As soon as we were out of earshot, we attacked her with questions.

"What was _that_ about?" We asked her quickly.

She got a loopy grin on her face and forgot to be mysterious for a minute. "Grant asked me to be his girlfriend!" She exclaimed.

I squealed "Yay!" Liz clapped her hands and Macey smiled.

"How'd he do it?" She asked.

"He pushed me up on the car and kissed me, he asked me after that." She got a dreamy look on her face. I waved my hand in front of her face a little bit to get her attention. We reached the bathroom laughing.

"Now all we gotta do is get Jonas and Preston to ask out Liz and Macey." I said as I elbowed Bex in the side.

"Yeah," she agreed "The hardest will be Jonas though, he's pretty shy." Macey stopped primping for a minuted and turned to look at us.

"Excuse me," she said deadly serious "what makes you think I like _Preston Winters_?" Her voice raised a pitch on the last 2 words. I eyed Bex and Liz.

"YOU SO LIKE HIM!" We exclaimed at the same time. She looked down at the ground ever so slightly, and we laughed at her confirmation.

"Forget it guys, Preston will never ask me out…" She seemed really down.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked incredulously

"She has got to be kidding." Bex said.

"There's no way she's serious." Liz said as we sat and looked at her.

"What?" She asked us

"Come on, you're Macey McHenry!" I said "What guy wouldn't want you!"

"You're gorgeous," Liz added

"You're nice," Bex said

"And you kick some serious butt." I finished "Of course he's going to ask you out, it's just a question of when."

"Do you guys really think so?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah!" We responded

"Then we just need to worry about Liz." She said and we turned to look at Liz. She turned bright red.

"W-we should p-probably get b-b-back." She said as she turned and left the bathroom. We laughed and followed her out.

When we made it back to the guys, we found they had made a little progress in the line.

"Okay, no more excuses, let's play a game." Macey said as soon as we hit our spot in line.

"What do you wanna play?" Bex asked.

"Never have I ever." She said "Rules, gender with the most people gets the point. Gender with the most points at the end wins. Let's say losing gender has to do whatever the opposite gender does."

"For how long?" Grant asked.

"One favor, so they really have to think of something good." She said with an evil grin.

"Okay, guys start." Zach said, I left his side to go stand by my friends.

"Hmm…Never have I ever…Passed out." Jonas said.

Liz and I both raised our hands, it wasn't something I was proud of but it was something that happened. After a moment's hesitation Macey raised her hand as well.

The only person to raise their hand from the boys was Preston. Point girls.

"Never have I ever...played spin the bottle." Grant and Zach raised their hands. Bex and I eyed each other, then raised our hands too. That got a surprised look out of Zach, and Macey.

"Tie," Macey pronounced "whoever has the most interesting story gets the point."

"Now you're making rules up!" I protested.

She shrugged "I don't hear anyone protesting."

"I'm protesting!" I exclaimed

"I'm over ruling!" she said "Come on Cam, do it for the point!" I groaned but nodded.

"They go first." Bex said and the boys shrugged.

"It was for a party someone threw over winter break a couple years ago." Zach said. "But here's the kicker, it was in Germany." He looked proud of himself. I eyed Bex and gestured for her to tell the story.

We moved up a few feet before she started. "Okay, so Cam and I were in Nebraska a summer or 2 ago with her grandparents while my parents were on a mission." She took a deep breath. "We were down by this lake a while away from Cam's grandparent's place, we were there with a bunch of kids from the neighboring Ranch's and they had a weird set of rules. We were on the dock that led to the lake so the rules were, if you didn't kiss then you had to take a swig of lake water from the bottle or you could jump naked in the lake. One kid was a total germaphobe, I'm still not entirely sure why he was there."

"Because he's a jerk," I cut in "No one likes the kid but if he finds out you didn't invite him to something, you get heat about it for ages." I rolled my eyes "His name is Samson, by the way." I added in unnecessarily. I hated the kid. We moved up again. We were getting close now.

"Yeah, so he spun the bottle and it landed on Cammie, we all knew there was no way he was going to do it, so we just listed his options. He said there was no way he was gonna drink out of that nasty bottle so he decided to strip and jump. After he jumped in, we grabbed his stuff and split." She looked at me and we laughed at the memory.

"He was in the lake all night, he was too scared to get out after we left." I finished and we all laughed for a while.

"Okay, that's hilarious, girls win." Macey declared.

"I don't know, I thought Grant and Zach's story was pretty entertaining." Jonas tried.

"Maybe," Preston cut in "But it wasn't that entertaining."

"I hate this game, we've barely gone 2 rounds and it's very clear that the girls are going to win" Grant whined.

"We can play a different game." I suggested. I hated this game.

"Yeah like truth or dare." Macey suggested.

"Or we can keep playing this game." I said as I hurriedly changed my mind.

"Nah, we're almost there anyways," Zach said as we moved closer, one more round and we would make it on. I made a mental note to thank him later. "We can play it when we're back at the house when there's more stuff to do and less people." I made a mental note to hit him later. So much for a knight in shining armor.

"Where are you guys staying?" Liz asked.

"At the house with you guys." Jonas answered. The girls and I exchanged looks. Looks like we were sharing rooms again.

We finally reached the gate to go on the ferris wheel. "Four to a cart!" The man running the machine yelled as we headed for a gate. Zach grabbed my hand and I reached for Bex's arm to find that she had the same thought I did. Macey and Liz would have boyfriends at the end of the night if Bex and I had anything to do with it.

With linked arms Bex and I lead our boyfriends to a cart ignoring the looks that Macey shot at our backs. When we reached out cart, Zach and I sat across from Grant and Bex. I leaned my head on his shoulder and took a contented sigh. I could practically hear his smirk as we started to move upwards.

"Oh man," Grant said "Macey looks ticked off." Bex Zach and I all looked towards them and saw Macey's mad face. Bex and I exchanged glances and I knew she saw the happy undertone in her face. She never stopped using a cover.

Liz and Jonas were both bright red as the stood side by side. I laughed a little. "Look at Jonas and Liz." I said calling attention to them. I felt Zach press closer against me to get a closer look. He chuckled softly in my ear.

"Come on Jo-Bro." He whispered quietly. "You can do it!" He cheered him on. Cautiously, Jonas reached over and grabbed Liz's hand. She jumped a little but then took a step closer to him. She look up and caught my gaze and grinned as she stepped into the cart with Jonas by her side, lending a hand to help her in.

"Yes!" Grant exclaimed as he and Zach slapped hands. They leaned back in the carts and I leaned into Zach who placed an arm around my shoulders.

"They will officially be a couple by the end of this ride." Bex proclaimed and I smiled for Liz.

"Hopefully Macey will have warmed up to Preston by then too." Grant said putting his arm around Bex. Bex and I made eye contact and she smiled.

"I think she'll warm up to him quicker than you think." I said mysteriously.

"Do you know something we don't know?" Zach asked at my cryptic statement.

"We know a lot of things you don't know." Bex said winking at me and I giggled.

"Look where we are." Zach whispered in my ear and I looked out the side. We were at the top of the ferris wheel.

I turned back to look at him just in time to catch a kiss. He cradled my face with one hand, the other still around my shoulder. He kissed me sweetly and softly. I took a deep breath as he pulled away, breathing him in as we settled in again.

I looked across the cart to see Bex and Grant starting a full on make-out session. I couldn't resist. I cat called at the precise moment Zach whistled. The broke apart startled as the glared at us. I laughed a little. Revenge was sweet.

When we got off the ferris wheel, we stood over by the exit to wait for our friends. We weren't surprised to see Liz and Jonas holding hands, but we were surprised to see Macey laughing with Preston.

I caught Macey's eye and raised an eyebrow at her. She shook her head once, she would explain later.

"Okay, what do you say to one last wave before dark?" Bex asked.

"Let's do it!" I exclaimed and recieved cheers in response. We ran to the beach, took off our t-shirts and ran to the water. The water was cool over my damp swim suit and I took off out towards the setting sun.

We surfed for an hour more, until it was too dark to see anymore. As I caught wave after wave, racing Zach for the best spot on a wave and shoving Bex off her board, I realized that no matter what the other Gallagher Girls were doing, there was no way they would top this summer.

As last light on the horizon disappeared, we made our way to shore. We found my mom and Solomon waiting for us by our t-shirts with a stack of towels.

"We thought you might want these." My mom admitted as she handed them out to us. "We'll leave soon," she continued "but you have to see this, it's the best part."  
I settled in the cool sand and Zach came over and cuddled up behind me. Macey came and sat on my right and Bex came on my right with Liz on her other side. Grant settled behind Bex in the same position as Zach.

A loud bang sounded on the horizon. A crack followed as the sky lit up with colors. For the next half hour, we watched the fireworks. As the night progressed, the air got cooler, and Zach moved his arms around my middle to keep me warm.

When the last burst of color lit up the sky, I was starting to feel the days activities catch up with. I was feeling a little drowsy as we walked back to the car laughing at Grant's impressions of the fireworks. We piled in the car, My mom and Solomon were in the front, Liz, Jonas and Preston were behind them. Macey, Bex, and Grant settled in behind them, and Zach and I opted to sit in the trunk of the SUV.

"Keep a good hold on her Mr. Goode." Mr Solomon said as we pulled out of the parking lot.

"Wouldn't dream of letting her go, Mr S." He replied as he wrapped his arms around me and I settled into his chest. As we pulled closer to the house, I dozed into a short sleep, feeling more secure in Zach's arms then I ever could in any seat belt.

**A/N: Tried to make it longer to make up for my lack of updating, sorry about that. As for the random facts that popped up, let's say if I mention it, it happened. This story doesn't really take place at a specific time. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry guys, finals are here at school, so the chapters are short and it's harder to update /:**

Chapter 7

"Cam," Zach said nudging me awake "Wake up, we're back." I sat up off his chest and shook my head to wake myself up. I stretched my arms above my head. It was around 11:30.

"Can we get food?" Grant asked "I'm starving!" we all nodded in agreement. My mom thought it over for a minute.

"Most of the food we have is frozen stuff, I'm not much of a chef even when it comes to frozen foods." My mom admitted.

"How about I drive to the chinese place just outside of town?" Mr Solomon suggested. "I can grab enough food to keep the kids from complaining and give the girls some time to change." He said glancing at our bathing suits which were visible under our t-shirts.

"Good idea," my mom said "I'll help the boys get settled in."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes and the suggested undertone. She really meant 'I'll make sure the boys stay away from the girls and their room.'

Mr. Solomon got back into the car and left to the chinese place.

"Alright girls, two of you go pack your bags, two to a room." she headed towards the house. She was just out of earshot when Zach found the loophole.

"I'll room with Cammie." He said throwing an arm around my shoulder.

"You'll room with Jonas" I said while pushing his arm off my shoulder and pulling Liz towards me in defense. He gave me a sour look but went to stand by Jonas.

"Look's like I'm with Macey." Bex said.

"Or," Grant popped in "you could be with me." He said with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, she's definitely with Macey." Macey said pulling Bex safely away from Grant. I laughed and looped my arm through Liz's.

"Come on Lizzie, let's go get you packed!" I exclaimed as we went through the house up to her room.

We packed diligently for about a half an hour. We were just lugging the last of her stuff into my room when we heard Macey and Bex fighting over space in her room. We glanced through the open doorway, past the bathroom, and into their room. Liz and I gave each other a look like 'I'm so glad I'm rooming with you!'

"What's all the screaming about?" Jonas asked as he came into our room followed closely by Zach.

"Apparently their closet is too small…" Liz said with a soft smile on her face. We exchanged a look and giggled.

"I will never understand women." Jonas said with a look towards the noise. Just then we heard a thud on the wall.

I ran through the bathroom towards and screaming Bex and Macey.

"Whoa!" I said as I ducked beneath a shoe being thrown in my direction. "What's going on?" I asked

They both simultaneously started yelling at me. "One at a time!" I stated.

"She is taking up way too much space!" Macey exclaimed

"I am not!" Bex exclaimed in a full british accent "She's the one with the bloody full closet of stuff she doesn't need!"

"Can't you just lay it out in your suitcases and in the dresser like sane people?" I asked

They gave eachother a look.

"I suppose…" Macey said.

Bex nodded her agreement.

"See? Was that so hard?" I asked as I rolled my eyes and went back to my room. I flopped on the bed. "They're going to kill each other." I stated plainly.

"Then it's our job to make sure they don't" Liz said as she glanced worriedly in the direction of Macey and Liz.

"Zach what are you doing?" I asked as he hurriedly dropped what he was doing by the side of my bed and looked up innocently."

"Absolutely nothing." He said. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, sure, will you guys leave so we can shower and change?" I asked impatiently.

"Touchy…" Jonas said as the exited the room.

"I'm going to shower really fast" I said as I walked towards the bathroom.

"Okay, I'll take one after you." Liz said as she started to pull out things to change into.

I showered and washed faster than I ever have before. I left the steamy bathroom as Liz entered. I changed into some pajama shorts and an oversized t-shirt. I was towel drying my hair as Liz left the bathroom.

"Is my brush in there?" I asked Liz

"I think so." She said.

I got up to go check. I found it waiting on the counter. I grabbed it and told Macey and Bex they could use the bathroom.

I brushed my hair and waited for Liz to do the same before we headed downstairs.

We went to sit down at the table and we saw the boys staring intently at cards in their hands.

"What are you guys playing?" Liz asked.

"Go fish…" Grant said as he stared at each of the boys in turn before asking Preston for an 8. Preston forked it over and Liz and I tried not to laugh.

"Quick question, why are you playing go fish?" I asked.

"It's the only game we know how to play." Preston said.

"I know how to play more games!" Jonas exclaimed.

"Yeah, but you suck at explaining." Zach said.

Liz and I looked at each other and picked up the cards, ignoring the boys protests.

I sat down and started shuffling while Liz explained our favorite game.

"Okay, this is practically poker but not really, It's called Anaconda. Each player is dealt six cards. In the first round, each player selects three unwanted cards and passes them facedown to the player on his left. No player is allowed to see his new cards until everyone has passed. The second round is the same as the first, only with two cards, then a third round with one card. A round of betting comes after the cards have been dealt and again after each round of passing. Players now have six cards in their hand, from which the best 5-card poker hand wins. Get it?" she finished.

"I think so, but what do we bet with?" Grant asked.

"Anything you can bet." I said. "I could bet two bags of chips, a secret, a story, anything."

"Okay," Zach said rolling up his sleeves. "Let's do this."

And so it began, at first, Liz and I won every round. When Bex and Macey came down, they helped us kick butt. Eventually, the boy's luck changed. They started getting cards that made no sense. After about 3 rounds, I watched each of the boys carefully, then I noticed the switch. They had cards in their laps. It made sense once I thought about it. Each round, one of the boys would volunteer to shuffle and deal. They must make the switch then.

"Food!" Mr Solomon announced as he walked in the door, then I got an idea.

The boy's crowded the table, I grabbed Macey and gestured for Liz and Bex to follow.

"I have an idea," I explained quickly as we walked upstairs. "The boys are totally cheating, so from now on, pass the cards that could help someone elses hands when you're passing to one of the girls" I said. "It may not be much, but it could keep the guys from totally kicking our butts." I said as we went into Macey and Bex's room.

"Even better, pass cards that make no sense to the guys, and try to catch them in the act of cheating" Bex added in. We finalized our plans to convey what cards we had and went over the plan one final time.

"We all clear?" Liz asked. We nodded our agreement, grabbed some socks as a cover and went downstairs.

We ate faster than ever and then sat down for a final round of Anaconda. Through a series of taps, coughs and fidgets we managed to get a good hand for Liz and one for Bex. I handed off ridiculous cards to the boys and the girls took the final round of Anaconda in our name. After the scores were added, the girls had one. I guess cheaters never prosper.

"Let's watch a movie," I suggested.

"Whoa there, it's almost 2:30 in the morning, you sure about this?" My mom asked.

"Definitely." I said

"Totally." Bex added

"Completely." Macey said

"Entirely." Liz finished

She gave us all a look, she didn't look like she was going to stop us, but she might put up a fight. She surprised us all by nodding "All right, don't stay up too late." She headed off towards her room with Mr. Solomon behind her. There was another room down the hallway, an office with a pull out couch, but I think we all knew better. The boys started to chuckled and my mom shot them a look. Then I understood, silence about where Mr. Solomon was sleeping for 24 hours in exchange for leaving us on our own.

We walked over by the couch, argued about what movie to watch, and stuck Mrs. Doubtfire in the DVD played before settling down to watch. I cuddled up in Zach's lap with Bex and Grant next to us on one couch, Liz, Jonas, Macey, and Preston all sat carefully next to each other on the other couch.

As the movie played, I felt myself get more and more comfortable. Zach started playing with my hair which didn't help. About half way through I was fighting to stay awake.

"Go to sleep Gallagher Girl," Zach's voice whispered in my ear. "It's okay." He said as he pulled a blanket over us. I fought sleep for a minute longer before giving in and falling into a deep blissful sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**OH MY GOODNESS! I'm so so so sorry it took so long to update! This summer has not been what I hoped it would! Sorry this is so short! I should have a nice long one up for you sometime this week(: thanks for being the best readers ever!**

Chapter 8

"Look how cute they are." my mom's voice said pulling me out of sleep. I didn't have the strength to drag my eyes open. I knew I should be awake but I also knew I needed more sleep. I could discern, however, that sometime last night I had shifted on top of Zach and his arms were protectively around my waist. My head rested on his chest and I had never been more comfortable.

"No, not cute" Joe's voice cut in "it's gross and they're too young and we should've stayed up to chaperone them." Come on Joe, like we would do anything with you two just down the hall.

"Oh leave them be! They all look adorable. Let's leave them to sleep, they look exhausted." Thank you Mama.

"Fine, but if his hands go anywhere they shouldn't be, I'm pulling them apart." I could tell his threat was not an empty one.

"Which boy are you talking about?" My mom asked.

"Any of them." He answered

"They won't do anything, come on."

The voices faded as I snuggled closer to Zachs chest. His arms tightened around me and I fell back into a blissful sleep.

I heard a sudden intake of breath and lifted my head immediately to see what was wrong. Zachs arms gently pulled me back down.

"Sorry Cam, didn't mean to wake you, it's just me." He whispered in a sleepy voice.

I laid back down on his chest. "It's okay. Are you alright?" I asked

"Better now that I know you're still here." His sleepy voice gave me chills. I smiled.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Neither am I." I glanced across the room. The others were all in similar positions to Zach and I. "Well don't they look comfortable." I said gesturing to Macey and Preston.

He chuckled. "Come on, we don't want to wake them." He said once again pulling me closer. I placed my head against the crook in his neck as he drew lazy circles on my back, seconds later, I was asleep again.

"BLACKTHORNE, FALL IN!" A very loud Joe exclaimed. I winced at the sudden noise. Zach rolled off the couch onto the ground and I rolled the opposite way to keep myself on the couch. I sat up and looked over to see all four of the boys doing push ups. I made eye contact with Bex as we busted out laughing, Macey and Liz soon joining in.

The boys looked up at Joe and glared. Bex and I had fallen over on our sides and even Joe was chuckling.

"We got sick of watching you guys sleep." My mom said with a smile. I finally stopped laughing and wiped the tears from my eyes. I ran a hand through my tangled hair and glanced at the clock. It was 10:30 in the morning.

"Why don't you guys go get dressed, or better yet, go put on your bathing suits? There's this water park I want to check out today." Joe suggested. There was a dangerous undertone to his voice, I knew there was more than one reason we were going to water park today. I got unnecessarily excited, even though I doubted we would be participating, we were going on a mission.

We ran upstairs, all of us in rush to get ready. We parted ways with the boys and headed for our rooms.

"Who do you think Solomon's going after?" Bex asked as soon as the door was closed, we were all on the same page already.

"Someone interesting hopefully." Macey said as she dug through her drawers looking for something to wear.

"No matter what it is, we have to keep our eyes and ears open for anything." I said with emphasis on anything.

"Cam, put this on," Macey said as she threw a 2 piece bathing suit at me. I held it up to see a very revealing black boho strapless bikini.

"Mace!" I exclaimed in protest.

"Cam, you said so yourself, we have to be prepared for anything. This could come in handy!" She replied.

She threw bikinis at Bex and Liz then pulled one out for herself.

"Go change!" She ordered me and Liz, and we reluctantly went to our room to change.

I slowly put on the bikini. Liz looked as happy with her selection as I was with mine. She had on a red bikini with one over the shoulder strap.

"Girls! Come here and let me do your hair!" Macey called.

Macey french braided liz's hair and pulled it back into a bun like a pro and then called me to my doom. She mussed my hair to give it beach waves and ordered me not to touch it.

We proceeded to put on waterproof make up and macey gave us matching cover ups and matching sunglasses and headed downstairs to leave for the water park.

"Finally." My mom said as we reached the bottom stairs. "The stuff is already in the car, let's go." She said as we locked the front door and got in the car.

Joe had exchanged our suburban for a van that could seat 12, the girls and I climbed into the front row of seats and we were off.

"Alright you guys" Joe began as we began driving. "This, as you may have guessed, is not a regular trip to the water park. This is a test. You may call it a summer homework assignment." Liz immediately lit up, and Jonas cheered. "Your job is to catch a teen. As easy as this sounds, it may not be what you have in mind. I need each of you to pick a teen and convince them to do something reckless. It can be anything you want as long as its crazy." Bex got an evil smile on her face. "The park closes at sundown, you have until then to complete your mission. Everyone understand?" We all chorused our confirmations.

"Well this should be interesting." Zach whispered in my ear and I suddenly got an idea for my reckless activity.

"Yes," I agreed "Yes it should."


	9. Chapter 9

The long new chapter, as promised (:

Chapter 9

The water park was bigger than I was expecting. It was also emptier than I was expecting.

"This may be harder than we thought." Macey said as we glanced at the handful of cars in the parking lot.

"Well, we aren't going to get it done just standing here." Liz said as she started towards the entrance.

Zach came up behind me and grabbed my hand. "So Gallagher Girl, what's your plan?" He asked.

"Wish I could say but, I don't want you stealing my idea." I answered.

He placed a hand over his heart. "Me? Steal an idea? I am hurt Gallagher Girl." He feigned shock but his face quickly burst into a smirk. "Eh, that's alright, I'm not going to tell you my idea either." his smirk momentarily morphed into a smile.

"Good," I said as I leaned over and kissed him. He eagerly kissed back as we walked into the park.

"Be careful Cam, you might need a single status later." Bex said with a wink. I laughed but let go of Zach's hand. She was right.

He gave me a puppy dog look but I stood firm, I stood in between Bex and Liz and took a look around. The park was as barren as expected, there were a couple of families and one couple. This was going to be hard.

"Don't worry, more people will show up." My mom whispered in our ears. As she said this we heard a bus pull into the parking lot.

A huge group of teenagers climbed off the bus and entered the park right behind us. They were a rowdy bunch but they looked perfect for our mission. Zach and the guys went with Solomon somewhere to the right and The girls and I went with my mom to the left. We laid our towels out on the grass and took a look at our options.

There were a significant number of girls in the group from the bus, but there were plenty of teenage guys for us to pick out of. We watched them discreetly for a few minutes before Liz found a good group of prospects.

"Oh! What about them?" Liz exclaimed while gesturing to our right. Right next to our boys was a group of four, admittedly gorgeous, guys.

"They're perfect!" Bex exclaimed.

"Alright girls," Macey instructed "First thing's first, get there attention."

I let out a small squeal and jumped backwards towards my towel and as expected one of them looked our way. As a small sidenote, so did our boys.

"Beautifully done Cammie, alrighty, now we need to hook their interest." Macey continued as she pulled off her cover up to reveal a stunning white bikini. The one boy that had looked up nudged his friends. The other three looked towards us to see Macey's gorgeous body.

"Alright, Bex, then Cammie, then you Liz." Bex reached down for the bottom of her cover up and pulled it off over her head showing her athletic figure and electric blue bikini.

Bex looked meaningfully towards me, I forced down a blush and quickly shed my cover up. Macey coughed slightly. I sighed and leaned forward for my toes in a faux stretch. When I glanced up, all of the boys had bug eyes. I pulled my hair over my shoulder and glanced at Liz as I leaned back on my elbows.

Little Lizzie pulled her cover up off slowly to show off her hot red bikini. She shook her hair out of her bun and let it fall loose over her shoulders. I made eye contact with Macey and I knew what she was thinking, neither of us expected that from Liz. The boys friend nudged the others as the huddled for a minute and then walked towards us.

"Hey, I'm Garrett, and these are my friends Chase, Joey, and Matt." Garrett was a good looking blonde with one heck of a smile. Chase was a tall dark and handsome black haired boy who seemed too cool for anything more than a head nod in our direction, Joey was a good looking brown haired kid with a friendly face, and finally Matt was a hunk with spiked dark brown hair.

"Hi, I'm Bex, this is Macey, Cammie, and Liz." Bex replied for us.

"Well, Bex, Macey, Cammie, and Liz, how would you mind hanging out with us for a while?" Joey asked. The girls and I exchanged looks.

"I guess we could." Macey replied seemingly bored.

"Excellent." Matt said with a smile. He moved to help Macey up, while Joey moved to help Liz, Chase went to help Bex, and Garrett helped me to my feet.

"Have you guys ever been here before?" Garrett asked us as we shuffled off towards the slides.

"Nope," I replied with a smile.

"Really? Well then you're gonna have a blast." Joey said.

I was puzzled as to why the park was some empty, it was a huge park with tons of water slides, wave pools, hot tubs, and even a lazy river.

They took us to the tube counter and we got 4 double tubes.

"Come on, we're gonna go on my favorite ride first." Garrett said to me as he led me up a set of stairs. "That is, if you don't mind heights." He grinned at me and winked.

I smiled back "No problem" I replied.

"Oooh, risky, dangerous, I like it" He said as he took off, full speed, towards the tallest slide.

We climber several flights of stairs before finally reaching the entrance to the slide.

"Alright, you sure you can handle this?" He asked with a mischievous grin.

I pretended to think about it for a second. I bit my lip and looked over and the slide and looked at where it let out. It was a pretty long slide, looked like it had a lot of twists and turns and it started out pretty steep. I looked back at face to see an expectant look in his eye. I looked out at the park once again before nodding.

His grin grew even wider, if possible. "Awesome! You're the first girl who's let me take them on this!" he exclaimed.

We walked over to the mouth of the slide.

"Heaviest person in front, put your legs under the armpits of the person in front of you, no leaning into the curves, stay on the tube, and as always, have fun." The lifeguard instructed as the tube moved down the mouth of the slide.

The tube started moving down the slippery slide and Garrett let out a whoop of excitement. The slide started off with a steep decline to gain speed then we were launched around corners and down and even back up the slide, it was insanely fun. Throughout the ride I gave little girly screams to make it seem like I was scared, I couldn't have him thinking I was too tough. At one point in the slide I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling me closer to him, he laughed and put one hand on my leg. When we reached the bottom, we were launched out of the slide and we skidded across the water towards the stairs.

Garrett hopped off the tube and turned to face me. "What did you think?" He asked with a smile.

"That was incredible!" I exclaimed honestly "It was so fun!" I smiled back at him and let him help me down from the tube and into the water next to him.

We climbed out of the water and he ditched the tube on the way back to the lines. "Next we're gonna go on my second favorite, its less intense than the other one, but its a lot faster." He lead me to a set of purple slides.

These slides had about 10 feet of going straight down then they went straight for a few feet then it dropped the rider off a cliff into the pool below. When we reached the slides, I heard of a familiar voice behind me.

"Hey Cammie!" Bex called to me and she walked towards me and Garrett with Chase following behind her.

"Hey Bex!" I called back to her. "How's it going?" I asked.

"Good, we're having a ton of fun!" she replied "How about you?"

"It's been a blast." I said making a 'sneaky' glance at Garrett. "I'm having a ton of fun."

"Good, are you going on this?" Bex asked gesturing to the purple slides.

"Yeah, planning on it." I said with a smile.

"You'll have fun," she said knowingly, "I've been on it three times already." She gave me a sly smile and I started to get nervous. "Don't tell me you're backing out Cammie." She said teasingly.

"No way!" I protested, "I'm not scared!"

Chase gave an unconvincing "Sure."

Garrett stepped in to put his friend in his place "I doubt she's scared, we already went on The Cyclone."

Chase gave me a look of respect and nodded his approval, "I know grown men who won't go on that." He said.

"Sounds like my kind of slide." Bex said "Can we go there next?" She said giving Chase a pleading look. It looked like he might say no, but then Bex tilted her head every so slightly, and he caved.

"Sure, sounds good." He said reluctantly. She gave him a sweet smile and he perked up a little bit.

"Alright Cammie, do you wanna race me or Bex?" Garrett asked.

I thought about it for a second. I could go with Garrett, and work on my 'summer homework' assignment, but this summer was supposed to be about me and the girls having fun together.

"I'll race Bex." I said with a challenge in my eyes. She met my gaze and agreed to the race.

"Alright girls," Garrett said as we settled on the slides. "This is easy, we have Chase down at the bottom of the slides to judge the winner, whoever hits the water first wins. On your mark, get set, GO!"

Bex and I launched ourselves forwards on the slide. The rush of adrenaline that came from the steep slide was amazing, I felt myself go flat as I approached the drop off. I pulled myself into a ball as I prepared for a cannon ball. I hit the water with a huge splash and began kicking to the surface. I surfaced and turned to my left to look for Bex just as she turned to look for me. We smiled at each other then glanced at Chase. He motioned for us to come towards him. We swam towards Chase, who met us at the bottom of the stairs.

"Who won?" We asked as soon as we reached the stairs.

"You know, I hate to say it, but I think you tied." He said sheepishly.

"No way, one of us has to win." Bex argued.

"Well you hit the water at the same time. As a matter of fact you left the slides towards the water at the same time too." He countered.

We heard a huge splash behind us as Garrett dropped off the cliff. He swam towards us skillfully.

"Who won?" he asked as he came up to us. He shook his hair and water droplets covered us.

"Apparently, we tied." I said glaring at Chase.

He held his hands up in surrender. "Don't shoot the messenger, you did hit the water at the same time."

"Lame." Garrett said looking over at me. "You can always go again," he suggested.

"How about I race you instead?" I suggested.

He smiled. "Sounds great, will you guys judge?" he asked Bex and Chase, they nodded their agreement.

"Do me a favor Garrett, beat her on the way down." Bex said teasingly.

"I'll do my best." He said as we climbed out. We made eye contact and he winked at me.

"Ready to go down?" I asked him as we climbed on the slides.

"Bring it." He said with a grin.

"Alright, 1-2-3!" I exclaimed as we shot off.

The slide was just as exhilarating as it was the first time. I hit the water in a perfect cannon ball. I kicked to the surface just in time to see Garrett emerge next to me.

"Who won?" He called to Bex and Chase while treading water.

"Cammie!" They yelled back.

He looked at me with a faux sad expression on his face. "I really thought I was going to beat you." He said

I laughed a little. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just too fast." I said confidently.

He gazed at me for a second before yelling "RACE YOU TO THE STAIRS!" He took off swimming incredibly fast to the stairs. I laughed and took after him. I made it to the stairs a split second after him, he was ecstatic!

"YES!" he exclaimed! "I have never been so excited to win a race!" He laughed and looked over at me. I couldn't help but giggle. "I've got to say, Cammie put up quite the fight, I thought she had me there for a while."

"I doubt that," I said with a smile. He winked at me.

"Now you're just being ridiculous, you're captain of the swim team, no one's beat you in years." Chase said with an eye roll.

"No, I'm serious, she is really fast." he said with a wink. I laughed and suppressed a shiver. Garrett noticed and smiled. "Hey guys, I think Cammie and I are going to go to the hot tubs now, we'll catch up with you later." He climbed out of the water and I followed.

I ran a hand through my hair as I followed him to the hot tubs. We climbed into the closest one.

"Alright," he said "let's play a game." he rubbed his hands together and I can tell he had an idea.

"Okay," I said tossing my hair over one shoulder "what do you want to play?" I looked at him mischievously, this was the perfect chance to get him to do something reckless.

"Name of the game is 'What are the odds', it's basically truth or dare without the truth. Have you played for before?" He asked. I nodded and he smiled wickedly "Perfect, I'll go first. What are the odds that you will...stick your head under the water for a full minute?" he asked.

'That's the best you got?' I thought "1-3" I said "On the count of three?" he nodded "okay, one, two, three!" He yelled the number 2 and I yelled 1, I didn't have to do it. I smirked at him.

"My turn, what are the odds you'll open your eyes under the water?" I asked him. He thought it over.

"1-7" he finally said. "Okay, one, two, three! FOUR!" I yelled just as he yelled the same number. He heaved a sigh and stuck his head under the water. His head shot up as he rubbed his eyes.

"Aahhh! I can't see!" I gave a small laugh at his reaction. "That was evil, my turn, what are the odds you'll sit closer to me?" he said in a flirty tone.

I smiled. "1-2, one, two, three!" As luck would have it, we both yelled 2, I slid closer to him so our thighs were touching. In the new position, the sun was really bright in my eyes, so I got an idea. "My turn, what are the odds you'll help me re-apply my sunblock?" I asked him with a flirty air, 'hey sometimes you have to get down and dirty' I thought to myself as I began to feel guilt.

"1-2" he said with a smile. "One, two, three!" Fate was on my side that day as we both yelled two again.

I climbed out of the hot tub and reached for his hand. "Come on," I said as I smiled at him. He grabbed my hand and I led him back to our towels.

My hair was mostly dry so I just let it sit on my shoulders as I dried the rest of my body off. "Here, come here." He said as he led me to where he had his towel laid out by his friends. I laid my towel out next to his and sat in the sun as we let it dry us off.

"While we're waiting, how about we keep playing?" I asked as I leaned back on my elbows. "It's your turn."

He smiled at me "Sounds good," He picked up a small rock. "What are the odds that you'll throw this over at Joey?" he asked.

I thought it over, and finally decided to make the odds a little higher. "1-9" I said as he tossed the rock back and forth in between his hands. "One, two, three!" He said 4 and I said 1. I didn't have to throw the rock but he chucked it at his friend that was down in the pool next to us anyway.

"OW!" Joey yelled as it nailed him in the head. I laughed out loud and Garrett joined in with me.

"Okay, now it's your turn." He finally managed to get out between laughs.

I took a deep breath "What are the odds you'll throw a rock at the guy sitting in between those two trees?" I said pointing to Solomon. He didn't look so sure.

"Are you sure? I don't know the guy." He protested, with a question in his eyes.

"Totally sure, I know him, he's my uncle and he actually did the same thing to me not to long ago and I was waiting for the perfect time to take revenge." I reminded myself to tell everyone else that later so we didn't have any mix ups.

He got an evil glint in his eyes as he gave his answer. "1-3" He answered.

"One, two, three!" I knew what number he was going to say so I yelled it too, we both yelled two and he picked up a rock and chucked it towards solomon. I was really glad to see his back was facing us. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Grant coming towards us with some blonde chick. Garrett let the rock fly.

The rock flew true, it nailed Solomon in the back and he whipped around and the first thing he picked out was a laughing grant. He glared at Grant, picked up the rock that hit him and flung it at Grant. He had perfect aim, it hit Grant in the gut. He turned to look at Solomon and gave him a 'What the Heck?" look.

I couldn't hold it in any more, Garrett and I burst out laughing. Grant and Solomon both turned to look at us as. They both gave me 'I'll get you for this' looks and Solomon turned to look at us, but I was laughing too hard to care. Garrett was laughing so hard he fell over into my lap. We sat there for a few minutes trying to stop laughing I nonchalantly played with his hair.

Eventually we stopped laughing and Garrett got a look of worry on his face. "You're looking a little red." He said "Let me help you with that sunblock now." He sat up and grabbed the bottle. He helped me rub the lotion into my legs arms and face, I insisted on rubbing it into my stomach but I needed his help rubbing it into my back.

I laid over on my stomach as he poured the cool lotion onto my back. He rubbed it in but it felt good so I let him rub my back for a few minutes.

"You know, it's my turn" He reminded me. I glanced back at him.

"Yeah it is, okay, what's my dare." I asked as I made eye contact.

"What are the odd's you'll kiss me?" He asked and I felt a small ball of guilt build up in my stomach, I quickly shoved it down, this was a job.

"1-1" I answered quietly as I leaned towards him and pressed my lips to his. He responded quickly. It was a small kiss, but really sweet. I hoped to everything that Zach wouldn't get mad.

We heard a cat call from our left. We broke apart to see Macey and Matt. I laughed a little as they came closer and sat next to us.

"Why Garrett, you little mastermind you." Matt said teasingly as I reassured Macey with a look, I would explain everything later.

"In my defense, we're playing what are the odds." He said defensively.

"Fun, do you mind if we join in?" Macey asked

"Not at all." I said with a smile.

"Awesome, I want to go." Macey said "Matt, what are the odds that you'll streak across the park?" She asked him. Well, I guess I knew what Macey's reckless activity was.

He thought about it "1-5" He said. I raised my eyebrows in surprise and looked at Garrett. He was stifling a laugh.

"Okay, one, two, three!" Macey yelled. It looked like Fate was on Macey's side today too, they both yelled 4. He sighed and climbed to his feet.

"You might not want to watch this." He turned his back to us and stripped off his trunks. I hurriedly covered my eyes as he started running. Garrett laughed at his friend as he ran out of sight and I knew I was blushing like crazy.

A couple of Minutes later, he came back towards us. "You can look now Cam." Macey said. I looked to see Matt being escorted back to us by a lifeguard, he had a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Keep it clean kids." The lifeguard said as he left Matt next to us. As Matt got redressed and Garrett laughed, Me and Macey looked at Solomon who gave a slight nod. Macey was in the clear.

"My turn," Matt said "Cammie what are the odds that you'll let me kiss you?" I held back a snort of disgust.

"One in a million." I said seriously. "One, two, three!" he said 12 and I said 7,000.65 he looked a little disappointed. Jerk. Garrett glared at his friend.

"My turn," I said changing the subject. "Garrett, what are the odds you'll run down the outside of the slide?" He looked baffled but seemed to seriously consider it.

"Umm…1-25" He said "One, two, three!" I was so glad for his predictability. We both said 12 and he shook his head in defeat. "I can't believe I'm doing this." He mumbled but he looked genuinely excited about it. He winked at me and put on a grin as he jogged to the stairs.

"Wow Cam, that's evil." Macey said but I caught her undertone, what she meant was 'Why didn't I think of that.' I smiled at her.

We sat in anticipation but we didn't wait long. Barely a minute later, we saw Garrett jump out onto the top of The Cyclone. He ran down the top as whistles filled the air. He reached about halfway down before he jumped onto a slide that ran under The Cyclone.

"Oh. My. Gosh." I said in amazement. "I can't believe he did that." I looked at Macey and Matt who looked just as surprised.

As he came into view, surrounded by lifeguards, Matt let out a cheer. "Woo! That's my boy!" He was laughing like crazy as he came up to us. He had a wild look in his eye.

"One more incident like this, and we're gonna have to kick you four out of the park, understood?" One very stern lifeguard said.

We chorused our yeah's as they walked away. I glanced at Solomon who gave me a nod and a look of respect. Mission complete.

Sorry it's not as long as it could be, but I really wanted to get a chapter up for you guys! And I'm sorry that it was wonky the first time I posted it! That was super weird!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Well, that was insanely fun." Garrett said as he took his place next to me. "I don't think we should play this anymore, we don't want to get in anymore trouble. Plus, it looks like Cam's uncle is going to seperate us at any minute" He gestured to Solomon and Macey raised an eyebrow at me. I gave her a pleading look and she gave in, promising to go along with it.

"What should we do now?" I asked everyone else. I could tell it was about 1:30, we had approximately 7-8 hours until the park closed.

"We could go around the lazy river, or we could play hide and go seek. The park's big enough for it." Matt suggested.

"Yeah, we could split up Boys against Girls." Macey added.

"Sounds good to me!" I said

"Awesome!" Garrett added "Who is going to look for who first?" he asked.

"You guys look for us," Macey said "close your eyes and count to 100 so we have enough time to find a good place to hide." She grabbed my arm as we stood up.

They shoved their faces down into the towels and started counting. Macey and I went towards the slides. We climbed to the top of the stairs and found a good spot to watch the boys from. We could see almost the entire park and we could see if they were coming towards us in which case we could go down one of the slides. It was the perfect spot.

"So what's this about Solomon being your uncle?" Macey asked.

"We were playing what are the odds and I wanted him to throw a rock at Solomon but he didn't know him so I told him I did and that he deserved it. It worked like a charm, he nailed Solomon and he thought that Grant threw it so he threw it at Grant, it was hilarious." I explained.

Macey laughed. "That's awesome! Then I suppose your little kiss with Garrett was a 'What are the Odds' question as well?" She asked.

"Yeah, it totally hooked him though so it ended up working well for everyone." I explained as I watched Matt and Garrett walk to the wave pool.

"Definitely." Macey agreed

"What about you and Matt? What have you two been up to today?" I asked her with a raised eyebrow.

She shrugged her shoulders. "He flirted, I kept him interested enough, we spent some time in the wave pool, and in the lazy river. It's been a pretty relaxed day." She scanned the horizon with me. "Hey look, it's Zach and a fake redhead." Macey said pointing to our left. "Crap, looks like they're heading up here."

"We'll just ignore them." I said as I watched them come up the stairs. "Looks like Preston and a black haired chick are headed this way too." I said as two teens rounded the corner. She turned quickly towards our right to see a random coupled coming up the stairs. "I so knew you liked him!" I said as she squashed down her jealousy.

"I do not!" she protested.

"Mhmm. I saw you all over him last night, you're in love." I argued.

"I am not in love with him!" she countered.

"Suuure." I said with a smile as I turned to look for Matt and Garrett.

An annoying girly laugh filled my ears. "Oh Zach, you're just too funny!" I rolled my eyes at the amount of flirt that was in this girls voice.

"Here comes the bimbo" I whispered to Macey

She laughed quietly in my ear. "It looks like our guys are coming too." she pointed at Matt and Garrett as they starting running up the stairs.

"Let them think they've caught us." I said as we stood in front of a row of slides used for racing.

"WE FOUND YOU!" Matt yelled as they raced towards us.

Zach and his bimbo turned to look at us. The lifeguards started blowing their whistles at us again. They tackled us to the slides as we gave small squeals. All four of us tumbled onto the slides behind us and we went down in a big tangle of arms and legs, laughing the whole way down. We landed at the bottom with Macey on top of Matt and Garrett on top of me. We were all laughing as the water washed over us. I glanced up just long enough to catch Zach's amused we sat there laughing at our strange position, a group of three lifeguards walked over to meet us at the bottom of the slide to escort us from the water park. We went without an argument.

Macey and I gathered our stuff, scribbled a note to my mom then followed Matt and Garrett out of the park.

"Well, that was a blast." Matt said as we laid our towels out under the shade of a tree in the front of the park.

"Yeah, we almost made it the entire time too." Garrett finished.

"What do you mean?" Macey asked.

"We are kind of trouble makers, we tried to make it the whole time without getting kicked out of the park." Matt explained. "The rest of our group is going to be leaving in about 30 minutes, then we'll get back on the bus and head home."

Macey and I nodded in understanding. "Are you guys here with your school?" I asked.

Garrett nodded "We go to this private school not to far from here, the lowest funded private school ever. Our Alumni is so cheap we can only afford the crappy public school busses." He explained

Matt jumped in "Seriously, they spend a ton of money on the actual school and stuff, so it looks like a private school until we have to go somewhere then we just look like another crappy public school. No offense, if you go to public."

"None taken," Macey started

"We go to private too." I finished.

"Really? What school." Garrett asked.

"Gallagher" We answered in unison.

"Never heard of it." Matt said.

"It's not around here." I said vaguely, their curiosity put me on edge.

"What school do you guys go to?" Macey asked.

" Acciaccatura, its this really new school, I don't think you've heard of it." Garrett said

I had heard of it, Macey was kicked out of there. "No, I don't think I have." I said "Maybe I'll look into it." I smiled at Garrett.

"I think I got kicked out of there." Macey said. "The first year it was open, I was there for like a week and they kicked me out for something stupid. I might've lit a classroom on fire or a teacher or something." Macey looked lost in thought as she tried to remember why she got kicked out of that particular school.

Matt laughed "Were you the one that lit Mr. K on fire?" He asked incredulously

"Science teacher?" She asked and Matt nodded. "Yup, that was me."

Matt laughed harder, Garrett and I joined in.

"Oh my gosh, Macey! Seriously?" I asked her with wide eyes.

She looked at me and smiled. "He got on my nerves." She defended. I laughed harder.

"Aww crap, here they come, we better get on the bus." Matt said as he finally regained the ability to speak. A huge group of teens came towards the exit.

Garrett and Matt climbed to their feet. "I had fun today." Garrett said

"Me too." I agreed. He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine.

"Come on bro," Matt said as he walked towards the bus.

"Bye." He said as he followed his friend to the bus.

"Bye." I said to his back.

Macey and I waved as the bus drove away.

As soon as the bus was out of sight, Macey and I rolled up our towels and walked to the entrance. "Excuse me, I think we left something in there, can we go look for it?" I asked.

"Sure, just don't stay too long." He said as he let us through.

We walked through the gates to where Liz and Bex were gathering there stuff.

"You done?" I asked them.

They nodded "The guys are done too," Bex said subtly gesturing across the patio.

I glanced in their direction to see them packing up their things as well. "Awesome, where are my mom and Solomon?" I asked.

"Going down one last slide." Liz said. We all rolled our eyes as my mom ran up to us.

"Hello girls, are we ready to go?" She asked as she gathered her bag and towel.

"Yes Mrs. Morgan." We answered in unison. I smiled at my mom innocently when she turned to look at me.

"A little cheeky today are we?" She asked

"Yes mom." We answered in unison once again. She rolled her eyes.

"Sometimes I think you four share a brain." She said "Let's go." She started walking to the car and we followed in a single file line behind her.

Half way across the parking lot we met up with the boys, they fell into line next to us. Mr Solomon walked next to my mom, Zach came up and grabbed my hand, Preston inched carefully next to Macey, Jonas stumbled into Liz causing both of them to trip, and Grant ran over and wrapped his arm around Bex.

"That was some stunt you pulled Gallagher Girl." Zach whispered in my ear.

"It was all for you Blackthorne Boy." I said with a smile. He smirked and leaned over and kissed my cheek.

We climbed in the car without another word. Zach and I climbed into the very last row of seats, as we sat, Zach wrapped his arms around me causing me to lean back into his chest.

"Can we get food?" Grant asked as he and Bex came to sit by us.

"I agree with Grant." Macey said as she climbed into the row of seats in front of us. "Ugh, I don't think I ever want to say that again." She wrinkled her nose.

My mom laughed. "Sure thing guys, we'll pick up a few pizzas on the way home." She said as Solomon started the car. "Beware, we're taking the long way home." She warned us.

We all sighed and settled in for a long drive.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Sorry guys with school starting I haven't had a ton of time and my dad got a new job so he's always on the compute, and we only have one): I'll try to be better. **

Chapter 11

Precisely 6 hours and 13 minutes later, we finally pulled up to our house. We had been sitting in the car so long, my legs weren't working properly. In fact, I don't think anyone's legs were walking properly except for, of course, my mom and Solomon. I had no idea how they did it.

"Alright, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm exhausted." My mom said "Let's all get to bed." She made it clear from her tone that this was not a suggestion, but an order.

"It's a good idea boys, we're going on a run tomorrow morning." Solomon said

"Yes sir." The boys mumbled tiredly.

"Well, night Cam" Zach said as he kissed me quickly then followed Preston, Jonas, and Grant inside.

After everyone else was inside, the girls and I glanced at each other. "Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked them.

Bex smiled excellently "Absolutely" she replied in her british accent.

"You know I am." Macey agreed.

"I hate when you guys do this!" Liz exclaimed.

We all giggled at our smallest and most brilliant friend.

"We'll explain inside Lizzie." I said as I threw my arms over her shoulders and led us all inside.

We snuck supplies quietly out of the kitchen and climbed up to our rooms. When we got there, we quickly but efficiently checked for bugs. Never make the same mistake twice. Once we were done with that, we sat Liz down and explained what was going to happen.

"Alright Lizzie, we're going to pull a prank on the boys." I started

"Oooh! I have an idea!" She immediately exclaimed.

That took less time than I thought. "Okay, what is it?" I asked.

"My cousins did this to me one time, we take those little medicine tablets and fill them with kool aid or antacid tablets, or both, then put them in the shower head. We just have to remember that they're there."

"You know, that idea isn't half bad. Although I must say it needs a little something more. Don't you agree Cam?" Bex asked.

"Maybe a little something like dye?" I asked mischievously.

"Something exactly like that." She said darkly.

"Macey, would you happen to have anything like that?" I asked her sweetly.

"Indeed I would my dearest Cammie." She said as she pulled a package out of her suitcase.

We went to work. We took what we needed to with us to the bathroom and filled the boys shower head with dye capsules. We worked quickly and efficiently, not making a sound. While we filled up the shower head, Bex and I took it upon ourselves to wreak havoc on the rest of the bathroom. We spread Icy Hot on the toilet seat and put a dye capsule into the top of the toilet effectively changing the color to a nice dark red color, hoping to terrify our dearest friends. Bex found a bendy straw from who-knows-where and placed it on one of the jets that fills the toilet when you flush and aimed it at approximately where we imaged the boys to be when they flushed the toilet.

"Are you guys rigging the toilet?" Liz asked us quietly.

"Maybe." Bex replied mischievously.

"Ooooh! I wanna help!" She disappeared into our room and came back with a bottle of hydrogen Peroxide and what looks like sodium iodide.

She poured a portion of the hydrogen peroxide into the tank of the toilet, where we put the red dye and then put the sodium iodide into the bowl of the toilet. She closed the lid and turned to look at us.

"Okay, almost done." Macey said as she pulled out a bottle and walked towards the sink.

As soon as we were done, we snuck quietly back into our room and shut the door. As soon as we were sure we were out of earshot, we began giggling. It was quiet at first, then it turned into full out laughter. As I looked around and my best friends in the world, I knew it was going to be the best summer ever.

Our night of fun wasn't over yet, Macey had something else in mind.

"So, I know we room together and all, but this is a great opportunity to have a slumber party, a real one, with all of us!" She exclaimed.

"She's right you know." Liz said with a smile on her face.

Bex looked at me with an expectant look on her face.

"Okay, but we can't draw too much attention, we don't want my mom or Joe to come up here and yell at us." I conceded.

The girls nodded eagerly in agreement.

"Cam, you and Bex go get ice cream or candy or anything sweet and chocolate. Lizzie and I will stay here and set up." Macey ordered.

Bex and I snuck silently back down the stairs to the first floor, only to encounter Grant sitting at the kitchen table.

"Why hello there ladies." He said with a smile.

"Hi Grant." Bex said as she moved determinedly to the freezer. I followed her example and went to the pantry looking for something salty to go with the sweet.

"What are you lovely ladies doing up so late?" Grant asked.

"We could ask the same of you." I said while grinning at him over my shoulder.

"True enough, if you must know I have insomnia" He answered with a soft smirk.

I turned at looked at him sympathetically. "I'm sorry." I said sincerely

He shrugged it off. "Comes with the job." He said nonchalantly "Okay, your turn." He questioned.

"Midnight snack." I said shaking a bag of chips at him as I walked towards Bex who had acquired ice cream and spoons.

"Well in that case," Grant said getting up. "Take some of these too." He said handing me a box of chocolate bars that were hidden in the back of the pantry. "Jonas hid them, but he hid them poorly so I figured he should pay for it." He smiled as he handed me four.

"Thanks Grant" I said with a genuine smile. I handed my treats to bex who had started shoveling ice cream in her mouth. "Insomnia you said?" I asked as I walked towards the fridge.

"Yeah, why?" He asked.

"My dad had really bad insomnia, he went to blackthorne too." I told him as I grabbed milk from the fridge, and cinnamon and honey from their places in the pantry. "He used to make this whenever he couldn't sleep." I confided in him.

I a mug of milk in the microwave for 20 seconds then put in a dash of cinnamon and a little honey. I mixed it and handed it to him.

He tentatively took a sip. A surprised look came across his face. "It's really sweet." He stated as he took another sip.

"I know, and the honey is all natural so it isn't against Blackthorne's crazy strict diet." I said with a smile. "I better get back upstairs before Bex eats everything."

"Night Cam." He said

"Night Grant." I replied and turned towards the stairs.

"Oh and Cam," I looked back at him "Thanks." He toasted his cup towards me and I smiled.

"Anytime." I answered as I walked towards my friends.

**AN: So I'm sorry it's so short, but I tried to just wrap this up and get it posted so you guys had something. I can honestly say that this chapter did not go where I expected it to! Enjoy and I'll see you as soon as I can! Thanks for all the reviews!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Alrighty guys this chapter is full of things I made up. We didn't have a lot of facts so I had to make do with what I had and make up the rest. I hope you guys like it and remember, this is not cannon, just what I thought fit the girls best. Also, some things might've been mentioned and I didn't remember it, or wanted to change it. **

Chapter 12

I climbed silently up the steps and slipped into the room Macey and Bex were sharing.

"It's about time." Bex said as I set the treats on the floor and sat next to Liz, grabbing the ice cream container.

I took a bite of the softened ice cream. "So sorry to keep you waiting. So what are we gonna do?" I asked passing the container along to Macey.

"We are going to tell secrets." Macey said. "As creepy as this sounds, but you guys are my best friends, I want to know all there is to know and then some. I want to be sure there aren't any surprises, I hate the idea of not knowing you guys. I mean, obviously we know what happens at school but I want to know what happened before you guys went to Gallagher, I want to hear the kind of trouble you got into, the guys you met, the stupid mistakes you made." She finished.

"I agree with Macey, outside of Gallagher, I feel like I hardly know you guys." Liz said.

"I think it's a great idea, but I know there's some stuff that's classified from my life." I said.

"Mine too." Bex agreed.

"But," I continued "I trust you guys, so I'll try to be as honest as I can when it comes to those things. What about you Bex?" I asked her.

"I'll do the same, I hate the idea of keeping things from some of my only friends." She said determinedly.

"Hold on, if we're doing this, I'm turning this on." Liz said

"What is it?" I asked

"It's a machine that will deactivate any and all bugs within a ten yard radius. It isn't perfect yet but it should serve its purpose for the night." She said picking up a very complicated looking box.

"It won't explode on us will it?" Macey asked uncertainly

"It shouldn't" Liz replied.

"That's comforting." mumbled Bex and Liz turned it on. We all waited in suspense for a few minutes. Nothing happened, we all let an audibel sigh of relief.

"Okay, how are we going to do this?" I asked "Are we going to ask a question and have everyone answer it or each tell individual stories one at a time?"

"I think we should ask a question and have everyone answer it, that way everyone gets a chance to talk and we learn a little about everyone." Bex said.

"Okay, Mace this was your idea, you go first. Ask a question." I said.

"How did you guys meet?" She asked in a small voice, almost as if she didn't want to hear the answer.

I exchanged a look with Bex and Liz. Silently we decided, Bex would tell the story.

"Cam and I met first." she began "We met a few years before we came to gallagher at what I only describe as an international spy convention. Our parents had been on missions together and since Cam and I were the only kids there, we spent pretty much the entire time together. Cam helped us sneak out of the main room and I lead us up to the roof. We scared our parents out of their skins. As they reprimanded us for sneaking off, I glanced at Cam and realized that she didn't look the least bit sorry, she was fighting off a smile even! That's when I knew that she was going to be my best friend. We wouldn't have even been roommates if she didn't ask her mom to put us in the same room.

"We met lizzie the first day of school seventh grade year. Cam and I obviously knew each other already and it was pretty clear that Liz didn't come from a spy family so we decided to let her into our little group. It was apparent from the first day that Liz was brilliant and we decided that we made a pretty good choice. Well, except for the fact that she managed to break almost everything we owned within a week of being at school" She said with a smile, Liz looked sheepish "We learned pretty quick to keep our valuables away from Liz." Bex finished.

"I never heard the story of how you and Cam met before." Liz said with a smile.

"Alright Bex, your turn. Ask us a question." I said

"What was your most embarrassing moment?' She asked.

Macey went first "Throwing up on a teachers desk. I was in first grade and I had the stomach flu, but stubbornly insisted on going to school. That was a mistake."

Bex went next "I once tripped over rock in the middle of the road that I was trying to jump over after bragging that I was such an amazing spy to the older kids that lived down the street. It was mortifying, although they later regretted laughing." I smiled, classic Bex.

"Judo flipping Josh was one of my most embarrassing moments." I said with a small smile.

"You what now?" Macey asked. I quickly recounted the events, getting embarrassed all over again.

When I was done the girls started laughing, making me blush red. I was about to protest when I burst into giggles too. It was a little funny.

"Alright, alright, enough about Cammies pathetic ex, Liz, what's your most embarrassing moment?" Bex asked with a smile.

Liz turned a light shade of pink. "I was changing in the bathroom at a friends house once and her older brother walked in on me." Her face turned red. "I had the biggest crush on him and I thought I was going to die when I saw him standing there."

"Aww" We started to giggle just a little.

"You guys!" She said with a small smile "It wasn't funny."

"It might not have been then, but it is now!" I said as my giggles turned to laughter.

Bex laughed so hard she let out a snort and we all burst into laughter. A few breathless moments later, we finally reduced our laughs to giggles.

"Okay, okay, next question. Your turn Cammie."

"What's the scariest thing you've ever done?" I asked ominously.

"Facing down terrorists." Macey said immediately.

"Shooting a gun for the first time." Liz said as she shuddered.

"Coming to Gallagher for the first time." Bex answered quietly.

We all looked at her like she was crazy. "Bex, are you serious?" I asked her.

She nodded, "It was the first time I had to spend an extended amount of time in a new country without my parents. I was terrified, I didn't know anyone other than Cam and I wasn't sure what to expect." She shrugged. "I got over it as soon as I figured out Cammie and I were rooming."

"Awww" I said with a smile. "You really do care" I teased.

She shoved me a little. "Of course I do you dork, you're my best friend! How could I not" She smiled back at me.

"Alright, Macey's turn again." I said turning to her.

"Okay then." She said thinking "What's your greatest accomplishment."

"Passing the first level of cove-ops." Liz said with relief in her eyes. We giggled at her.

"Making it this far in school." I said

"Not punching Macey that whole first month she was with us." Bex said with a smile.

Macey scoffed and threw a pillow at her.

"Oi, I'm being serious, you were very hard to deal with for those first few weeks." Bex defended. Macey looked to us for back up but we just nodded in agreement.

"Well, it's not like you guys were so easy to handle either, you know." Macey said. "Bex was terrifying and Cam's mom was the headmaster and I was always terrified you were going to get me in trouble!" She laughed a little. "At least I was right about that."

We burst into objections. "It's true!" She yelled over us, "Trouble follows you three wherever you go!"

"Well, now it follows you too! It rubs off on you!" I said in defense.

She rolled her eyes at me, "Well duh it does!"

"Alright, back to the questions." Liz said

"Okay, what was your life like, growing up?" Bex asked.

"It was nice" Liz started "My mom stayed at home and was always around to help us with projects from school and with homework. She always had a snack waiting for us at home, she tried to teach me and my siblings all that she could so we would be prepared when we left home. We she discovered I was too smart for my own good though, things changed. She didn't spend as much time with me, and she treated me different. Like she was scared of how smart I was. My dad on the other hand was ecstatic when I was smart. He was an accountant and he loved to go over his work with me to see how much I could learn or what my limits were. When we heard from Gallagher my parents had a huge fight about whether or not I should go. My mom wanted me to have the best education I could, so I could have my best chance, my dad didn't want to lose his little genius. In the end I ended up coming to gallagher as you can tell" She smiled at us.

"My life was full of traveling." Macey said "I spent a lot of time with nannies and then with my parents for photoshoots. They never really paid much attention to me, as soon as I was old enough they shipped me off to the farthest boarding school they could find. I started pulling stunts to see what I could get away with and what I couldn't. It didn't start out as a way to get attention but I guess that's what it became." Macey shrugged. "I didn't exactly have an amazing childhood."

"What about you Cam?" Bex asked.

"I had a pretty good childhood. My parents were mostly gone on missions but I could usually count on having someone around to talk too. I excelled in public school and couldn't wait to go to Gallagher. I spent a ton of time learning as much as I could ahead of time so when I got to Gallagher I would be well prepared and ready to make my parents proud. After I met Bex I spent some time with her while my parents went on missions, sometimes in Nebraska, or wherever I was living at the time, sometimes in Britain. Everything changed when my dad disappeared though. Mom spent more time away, I stopped focusing so much on trying to do what was hard and kind of gave up for a while. Until Aunt Abby came by then she kicked me into gear, I went crazy training and doing everything I could to be the spy that my dad would want me to be. I kind of calmed down when I got to Gallagher only because I had other things to focus on." I smiled at them. "I guess there are worse lives to live. I really liked my childhood, I'm even still friends with a few kids from ages ago."

"Really? Like who?" Macey wanted to know.

I waved my hand, "Just some kids from Nebraska, I used to live just down the street from where my grandparents live now."

"Maybe we'll swing by and say hi" Macey said with a mischievous grin.

I shook my head like crazy "No way, the whole point of this summer is to avoid Nebraska like the plague!" I said anxiously.

"Oh really?" Bex said "And why is that?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.

"No reason." I tried to say normally. That was my mistake.

"Alright, who is it?" Macey asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You obviously have someone you want to avoid seeing this summer." Liz said as they crowded around me like a pack of wolves getting ready to attack.

"Just this guy from scho-"

"A guy?!" They exclaimed in unison. I hurried and shushed them.

"Yes," I whispered, "A guy that I in no way am attracted to, but cannot seem to shake. Gram says the kid's in love with me."

"Maybe we should bring Zach along." Macey said with a sly look in her eye.

"No need, we aren't going!" I told her firmly. She gave me a look that said 'this conversation isn't over'.

"Alright, Bex's turn" I said quickly trying to change the subject.

Bex took a deep breath. "I spent most of my early childhood in Britain, a new house almost every month and when I was finally old enough my parents started going on missions again, for a while they tried to leave me with a nanny but it became very clear very fast that I was a devil child for anyone other than my parents. That's when they started taking me on their missions or wherever they were going. Like Cam said, after we met they started putting us together when they could, but when Cam's dad disappeared that all stopped. Which was kind of a blessing because we had a very interesting situation with a brat at her grandparents house." Bex let out a small laugh at the memory, I rolled my eyes but smiled. "Other than that my life before Gallagher was just full of excitement and trying to stay out of trouble."

We all gaped at her. "Trying to stay out of trouble? You?" I asked incredulously.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm not stupid I don't go looking for attempts on my life, or fights with a terrorist. I was pretty good at it too until I started spending time with you." She said playfully as she tapped my leg.

"Oh, ha ha." I said sarcastically "I assume you all believe I'm the cause of your trouble." I said looking around at my friends.

"Well…." Macey said drawing out the L with a smile on her face. Liz started giggling.

"What?" I asked them seriously. Liz burst out laughing.

"Cam, it's kind of true." Macey said giggling as Bex let out a hoot.

"It is not!" I tried to protest over the sound of their laughs but eventually I just gave in and laughed with them.

"Whew, I'm going to have a six pack after tonight." Macey said wiping her eyes.

I covered Liz's mouth before she could start a lecture about how that was physically impossible. Liz stared at me then licked my hand.

I jerked back and wiped my hands on the ground giggling. "Ew!" I exclaimed.

Lizzie just smiled at me. "You asked for it. I have a question." She said looking at Bex.  
"What happened with the brat in Nebraska?"

Bex and I burst out laughing. Bex quickly managed to control her laughter but I couldn't seem to stop. "Okay, here's the story," Bex said in between giggles. "There was this kid, this guy named Brandon, he was a real know it all, a super huge jerk. He always challenged what Cammie said so one time, it was spring break or something like that and this kid would not leave us alone so I," she burst into laughter again for a few seconds. "I gave the kid a wedgie and stuck him up on a tree branch." She laughed again. "Then I called over a few of the younger kids down the street and called them over to where he was hanging trying to get down and I handed one of them a stick and said 'Look kids its a talking Pinata!' and just let the kids whale on him!" This time Macey and Liz laughed with us. "He was all like 'I'm not a pinata! I'm not a pinata!' and the kids were screaming hitting him, laughing and Cammie and I just sat there watching and laughing." We regained our composure and stopped laughing momentarily.

We looked around at each other and burst out laughing again, I tried to smother it in a pillow but it didn't work very well and it wasn't long until we were all squealing and laughing so hard we weren't making sounds. We all fell silent when we heard a knock on the door. Macey went towards the door as the rest of us tried to stop the giggles that burst out every few seconds.

"Oh, hi Mr. Solomon." Macey said straightening up a little. We looked at each other and wiped our eyes before going to stand by Macey.

"Hello girls, I understand you're all having a wonderful time tonight, but some of us need sleep, including you four, don't you think it's time you settled down for the night?" He said sternly. It was very clear that he wasn't making a suggestion.

"Yes sir." We replied in unison.

"Thank you." He turned on his heel and walked back downstairs.

We looked at each other and laughed silently. Holding our sides, Liz and I crossed back into our room after saying our goodnights to Macey and Bex. We braided each other hair and climbed into bed when a question crossed my mind.

"Hey Lizzie?" I asked her quietly

"Yeah Cam?"

"Do you regret coming to Gallagher?" I propped myself up on my elbow so I could look at her face.

She thought about it, no doubt weighing pro's and con's in her head. It didn't take as long as I expected for her to respond.

"No." She said with absolute certainty on her face.

"Why?" I asked curiously. "Don't you miss being an innocent?"

"Not at all," She said firmly "Normal is beyond overrated, at Gallagher I'm part of something special, I can do the things I'm good at and help people. I've been on the other side and there's no way I'd go back. It may not seem like it to you, but there is no benefit to being an innocent, there are definitely bad things about our line of work, but the good far outweighs the bad. Trust me." She said confidently.

"I never thought about it like that." I said honestly. "I love my sisters at Gallagher but there was something that seemed serene about the normal life."

"There are serene moments to this too," She replied. "Moments like this, that made the exciting moments more exciting, which in turn makes the serene moments more peaceful. It's a life full of highs." Liz explained.

"You're right." I said with certainty.

"I usually am." She said with a smile and I grinned back at her.

"Night Lizzie."

"Night Cam."

A/N: I am SOOOOOO Sorry guys! I can't believe it took me this long to post! I've been really busy with things at school so I tried to make this one super long to make up for my absence! I'll try to get the next one up soon! Just a note, I don't need a certain amount of comments to post, but the comments remind me that there are people actually reading my story and I need to write! Everytime I get a fanfiction email, I write a page.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Daaaaang son! I got 13 emails this week so far! Keep it up guys!**

Chapter 13

"ATAAAAACK!" Grant screamed the next morning as the boys screamed and ran into our rooms.

I jumped out of bed and ran towards the bathroom, narrowly avoiding Zach's wild grab for me. "Liz!" I yelled as Jonas tackled her to the ground.

I slammed the bathroom door shut and locked it. Bex came in through her side of the bathroom and shut and locked that door too.

"They got Liz!" I yelled over the noise of the boys and Liz and Macey's screams.

"Macey too!" She exclaimed. We pressed our backs against the door.

I looked around wildly for a way out of the bathroom. "Do you think we can fit out of the window?" I asked her.

She examined the size of the window. "Yeah," She replied "I think so." We both ran for the window and shoved it open.

"You first!" I said. She jumped through the window. I climbed up on the sill and looked to make sure that Bex was out of the way.

The boys started ramming their shoulders against the door, I didn't wait a second longer and jumped. I crouched into a roll as I landed, trying to avoid spraining my ankle. I avoided landing on my ankle, but I slammed my shoulder into the ground pretty hard.

We landed in the backyard, on the sand. I looked through the kitchen window to see Mom and Solomon laughing at the kitchen table. I stood up and looked around for Bex, I found her a few feet from the edge of the house, rotating her shoulder. It looks like she hit her shoulder too.

"Come on Bex, they were right behind me!" I yelled and we took off down the beach.

As we ran, I looked over a Bex smiling. "Do you think the boys tried to use the bathroom this morning?" I asked.

Bex laughed. "You think?" She looked behind us. "I don't see them yet, but we should get off the beach, try to cover our tracks." She suggested.

"Good idea." I said as we turned to the left and went through someone's backyard towards the road. "Which way should we go?" I asked her.

"I think there's a boardwalk somewhere up here," She said gesturing to the right "We should try to stay out of the way until they calm down."

I nodded my agreement and we started a brisk walk towards the pier.

"So guess what color Grant was when he ran into my room this morning?" Bex said with a smile.

I laughed. "Green?" I asked.

Bex shook her head. "Purple." She confided in me, and we burst out laughing.

"What was Preston's condition like?" I asked.

"Wet." She said as we burst into laughs once more.

"That was a brilliant idea." I said as soon as I caught my breath.

She nodded her agreement. "What do you think they're going to do to Liz and Macey?" She asked.

"I'm not sure." I replied. "How mad do you think they're going to be that we left them behind?" I asked Bex.

She smiled. "Macey will be furious, I can imagine Liz will be the same." We laughed at the mental picture of little Lizzie furious.

"Wait, wait!" I said to Bex. "Do you hear that?" We stopped walking and listened.

"YOU GUYS!"

"Macey?!" We turned to each other surprised.

We spun around, and sure enough, there she was, running after us. We ran back towards her, making sure to keep an eye out for the boys.

"Macey, how did you get out, I thought for sure you were a goner!" Bex exclaimed.

Macey held up a finger, gesturing for us to wait while she caught her breath.

"I slipped out of Grant's grasp when Zach called for help to get the bathroom door open. I jumped out the window and ran out to the front of the house, I saw you guys a few meters back." She said gulping air.

"Nice," I said appreciatively "We're headed towards the pier now, do you know how Liz is doing?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "Last I saw of her, she was being chased by Jonas down the hall, She might've run to see if your mom would help." She said as we resumed walking towards the pier. "So what exactly is your brilliant plan?" Macey asked. "Get to the pier and then what?"

"Dunno. We figured we'd be lucky if we made it to the pier." Bex answered.

Macey rolled her eyes and reached into her tank-top and pulled out a credit card. "You two are so lucky I never sleep without this thing." She said.

"You sleep with a credit card in your shirt?" I asked

"My dad always said you should never be without money."

I looked at her, a little surprised. "Alrighty." I said.

"Look, there's the pier." Bex said.

"Wow, we made good time." Macey said surprised.

I slung my arm around her shoulder. "You're faster than you were before McHenry. Before you know it, you'll be winning the gold in the olympics." I said with a smile.

She grinned back at me. "Luckily for you, there's one thing that'll never change, Morgan," She said "I will always love to shop, and what do you know. There's a cute little boutique right here on the pier."

I groaned as she pulled me faster towards the small shop.

We walked into the store and were hit with a rush of cool air. We were just starting to look around when someone popped up out of nowhere.

"Hi, welcome to seaside boutique, how may I help you?" a peppy store girl asked us with a cheesy grin.

I jerked back, surprised. "I think we have it all under control, thank you." Macey said with a smile.

"Alrighty, if you need me, I'll be up at the front desk, my name is Shelly." She said pointing to her name tag, before walking away.

"Well that was creepy." Bex muttered.

"My sentiments exactly." I watched her walk away, then burst out into quiet laughter.

"What is so funny?" Macey asked.

"Oh come on, I'm the only one who noticed? She works at the _seaside boutique_ and her name is _Shelly_?" I asked quietly, holding back giggles.

Bex thought about it for a minute then joined me in laughing at the irony. Macey rolled her eyes but smiled.

"Come on you two." She said. "I'm not walking around in pyjamas all day."

As we wandered around the store, trailing behind Macey, Bex and I chatted.

"What do you think of these sunglasses?" Bex asked holding up a pair of giraffe print sunglasses. I laughed a little.

"Oh they're wonderful," I said sarcastically "But I think I like these ones better." I said holding up a pair that had a sun coming off the side of it.

Macey whirled around, and looked horrified at me as if I was insane. Bex and I burst out laughing at her expression.

"We were kidding Mace!" Bex said. Macey scowled at us then thrust a dress into Bex's hands.

"This is a sundress." Bex said to Macey.

"I know, put it on." Macey said.

"Macey, I don't wear sundresses." Bex said as she tried to hand it back to her.

"Today you do, come on Bex, we're trying to blend in." Macey argued. Bex groaned and stalked off to the dressing rooms.

Macey took off towards another rack of summer dresses and handed me one as well only seconds after reaching the rack.

"Don't bother arguing, go put it on." She said without so much as a glance in my direction.

I reluctantly went in the same direction of Bex. I found an empty room and locked the door then groaned.

"Cammie?" Came from the room next to mine.

"Bex?" I asked.

"Yeah it's me, I don't want to wear this." She replied

"Let me see," I said "Come into my room" I opened the door and Bex ran over. She slammed the door behind her and locked it quickly.

She stood before me in a white sundress covered with pink flowers, the dress only reached her knees but it got longer in the back.

"Cam, it's _floral_ print." she said using the same tone she would to discuss terrorists.

"It looks good on you!" I argued.

Suddenly her whole demeanor changed. She straightened up and examined herself in the mirror.

"You think so?" She asked.

"Yeah, I do, it's a lot better than mine." I replied honestly.

She picked up my dress, a strapless pink dress.

"Cam, this would look amazing on you!" She protested. "Put it on, right now!" She exclaimed shoving the dress into my hands and turning towards the wall.

I reluctantly changed into the dress then stared at myself in the mirror. I made a noise of disgust and Bex whirled around to see.

"Cammie, you look gorgeous in that, don't even bother trying to deny it!" Bex exclaimed.

"Oh good, you two are dressed, let me see." Macey's voice came from the hall in front of the changing room.

We opened the door and walked out for inspection. Macey eyed the dresses quickly before handing Bex a skinny brown belt to put around her waist and me a ring and an anklet.

We quickly added these to our ensembles.

Macey nodded her approval. "Gather your things and wait for me to change, I already paid."

"Wait, Mace" Bex said. "What about shoes?"

"We're going without them, we're going to be on the beach, we'll be fine."

Bex shrugged. "Okay, come on Cam." Bex nudged me toward the dressing room again.

I went into the room I changed in and grabbed my pyjamas off the floor and bundled them up. I met Bex back in the hall. We stood there for maybe 5 seconds when Macey burst out of her changing room, pyjamas in her hand.

"Alright, now hair." Macey instructed. Bex and I stared at her in disbelief. She look absolutely perfect in a gorgeous white sundress and anchor bracelet, but it couldn't have been more than 45 seconds.

"How did you do that?" I asked.

"Years of practice, take your hair out of the braid." She ordered as she crossed to Bex and started running her fingers through it.

She expertly made Bex's hair look flawlessly messy in the amount of time it took me to take out my braid. As soon as my hair was down she left Bex's side and immediately started working on my hair. Seconds later, my hair was framing my face and the crazy waves were soothed and managed.

"Alright, lets go find something to eat." Macey said leading us confidently out of the little shop. Dumbfounded, we followed her.

"I need an ATM" Macey said.

I pointed off to the side where I knew an ATM lay. "Awesome, thanks Cam." Macey said as she walked toward it. Bex and I glanced at each other before following her.

Macey got 50 dollars out of the ATM, then turned to me and Bex. "Where do we want to eat?" She asked us.

"Pretzels sound great." Bex suggested

"Great!" Macey replied.

I smiled at her. "What would we do without you Mace?" I asked her.

She grinned back at me. "Well, you certainly wouldn't noticed these amazingly hot guys surrounding us." She said. "Check out the one in the blue shorts." She said gesturing discreetly with her eyes.

Bex and I followed her gaze and I nodded appreciatively. Bex waggled her eyebrows suggestively and Macey and I laughed.

Bex cut off her laugh suddenly. "Uh-oh." She said glancing over my shoulder.

"What?" I asked seriously.

"False alarm, just kidding." Bex said with a smile.

I let out a sigh of relief. "You scared the crap out of me." I said hitting her playfully on the shoulder.

She smiled back at me "I do enjoy scaring you, now come on, I'm hungry." She said pulling us in the direction of the pretzel cart.

Macey and I giggled and followed our eager friend. Macey paid for three pretzels then put the rest of the money in her pocket and zipped it up.

We walked around aimlessly eating our pretzels and making small talk. We ended up about half way to the water before we stopped and sat down in the sand. We finished the pretzels and I brought up the question that was on everyone's minds.

"When do you think we can go back?" I asked them.

"Another hour at least." Macey said.

"How long has it been do you think?" Bex asked.

I looked up at the sun's position. "I would guess almost an hour." I said.

"Only an hour? Ugh!" Bex exclaimed and layed down on the sand frustrated.

"Don't do that, you'll get sand in your hair." Macey commented while taking the last bite of her pretzel.

Bex sat up quickly looking very rigid.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting you to listen to her." I said as I looked out at the waves.

"Boy alert." She said softly.

"What?" I asked her.

"Boys, three, _hot_, coming this way." She said fluffing her hair.

"What about Grant?" I asked her.

"It's just a little flirting, I don't think he'll mind" She said with a small smile. "Besides, there's no way I'd do anything to endanger my relationship him, it's just a bit of fun."

"Well, not for me it isn't." Macey said as she straightened. "There's no way I'm going to sit around and wait for Preston Winters of all people." She smiled a little before turning on me.

"Cammie, so help me, if you don't flirt back with these guys and ruin it for me, I will kill you." Macey threatened.

"But Zach-" I tried to protest.

"I'm not kidding Cam, dead. I"ll personally explain to Zach that I forced you too, but for the moment I want no mention of your boyfriend, am I clear?" She hissed quietly at me.

I nodded quickly and I tried to force down the guilt. 'It's just a cover' I told myself. 'I'm doing it for Macey.'

"May we take a seat?" a masculine voice said from behind us.

Almost simultaneously we glanced over our right shoulders and smiled. "Please, do." Macey answered for us. Bex and Macey moved apart creating a space between them as each of the boys took a seat by us.

A tall blonde took a seat next to Bex, a shorter black haired guy sat in between Bex and Macey, while the third and final boy sat down next to me. He had dark brown hair, slightly shaggy and a total 'don't talk to me' kind of vibe.

"I'm Xavier," said the boy next to Bex "that's Sam," pointing to the boy in between Macey and Bex, he raised his hand slightly to indicate that he was indeed, Sam. "And that's Sawyer." He said pointing to the guy next to me. "He doesn't talk much." Well, that was fine with me.

"Hi, I'm Macey," Macey began "That's Bex, and over there is Cammie, she's pretty quiet too." Macey introduced us with a smile.

"Well, that works out nice and convenient doesn't it?" Xavier said with a smile as he leaned closer to Bex.

"Yes, it does." Bex said as she reveled in the attention.

'It's a little strange,' I thought to myself 'how many guys we had seen so far this summer, do all the girls just vacation someone else? I wonder what the guys are doing. Is liz okay? Did I just see a shark?' ' As I zoned out of the world around me, and stared out into the world around me, I jumped at the sound of a voice coming from my right.

"So, your name is Cammie?" Sawyer said.

"Yeah. Well, Cameron actually." I said with a smile.

He smiled back at me. "Parents wanted a boy?" He asked.

"I guess." I laughed a little at the question.

"So what are you guys doing here, local? Tourists?" He asked.

"Tourists, what about you?" I replied.

He grinned widely. "Local, so much better than being a tourist."

I laughed "I can imagine."

"What are your plans for the summer?" He looked genuinely curious, but I was immediately set on guard.

"Hanging around, unwinding after school." I said with a shrug. "Nothing too exciting."

"Sounds nice." He said

"What are you doing this summer?" I asked him

"Enjoying the sun while I can. Avoiding the idea of summer ending. Trying to get these two idiots to do something exciting with me." He said nodding his head to his two friends.

I laughed a little. "Sounds like you've got a full summer ahead of you."

"Yeah, I guess I do. How long are you guys here?"

"Until the end of the month." I said. He nodded like he was expecting this answer.

"There's this insane party tonight, gonna be a bonfire, night surfing, we might even have fireworks." He explained. "You three should come, it'll be tons of fun."

"That does sound like fun," I said with a smile. "What time?" I asked.

"Tonight, anytime after dark until sunrise." He said wickedly.

I couldn't keep the grin from my face. "Sounds like our kind of party. We have one more friend who isn't here with us right now, back at the house, can she come too?" I asked thinking of Liz.

"Sure, the more the merrier." He said excitedly.

"Awesome" I grinned at him.

"Uh, guys, maybe we should go." Bex said trying to sound casual, her tone put me on high alert. I glanced around covertly.

As I surveyed the beach around us, I spotted Zach and Grant coming towards us. "Good idea," I quickly agreed with Bex "I'm starved, it's time for food." I said as I stood up, keeping my back to the boys and my head semi down.

Macey suddenly noticed the guys and stood up quickly as Bex jumped to her feet. "Well, this has been a blast, but we probably should jet." She said trying to keep her voice calm.

"We'll see you guys tonight." I offered as we started down the beach.

"Yeah, see you." Sam said confused. Bex blew him a kiss and Macey winked trying to calm them as we walked away.

As soon as we were out of earshot, we got to work. "Split up." I said "They'll be expect us to be together."

I slowly walked away from Macey and Bex did the same so we were all going a different way. I had no doubt that they had seen us, but they wouldn't be able to catch all of us, hopefully one of us would get away.

I faded into the background of the beach flawlessly. I saw Zach tailing me for a while but I managed to avoid him, I passed Macey once or twice and I saw Bex as she was caught by Grant. I must have wandered around for an hour before Zach finally caught me. I was standing by one of the food carts when I felt his arms wrap around my waist. I jumped a little at the sudden contact.

"Got you Gallagher Girl." He whispered in my ear. "You are an extremely hard girl to catch."

I sighed as I relaxed into his grasp. I took in his familiar scent. "I don't try to be." I said innocently.

He snorted. "I'm sure." He said as he turned me around and kissed me. "That was a dirty trick you played on us Gallagher Girl." He said as he tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear.

"I'm sorry." I whispered like a small child, hoping to extract some mercy.

"Are you?" He asked "Prove it." He smirked a little, he knew exactly what he was doing."

I smiled up at him as I stood on my tip-toes, pressed my lips to his and wrapped my fingers in his hair. He recoiled a little, obviously not expecting my excitement.

After I felt like I made my point clear, I pulled away. He had a wild look in his eyes but he quickly recovered.

"Well, if you're _that_ sorry I guess I can forgive you." He said with a small smirk.

I laughed a little and rolled my eyes. "Let's go." I said as he led me towards the parking lot. I guess they were smart enough to take the van instead of running.

We climbed into the backseat of the van to see a sulking Macey in the back and a grinning Bex in the front.

"So, how was your day at the beach?" Grant asked with a grin as I climbed in behind Zach.

"Great, how was your shower?" I asked the still-purple Grant cheekily.

He gave me a small sarcastic laugh and threw his shoe at me before turning the car on. I laughed at his reaction as we pulled out of the parking lot.

"I'm keeping this" I said and held up the sandal so Grant could see it.

Grant floundered for a retort. "Well, I hope it fits." He said finally. Bex and I laughed and even Macey and Zach smiled.

"So, how's Liz?" I asked the boys.

"I assume she's doing great," Zach explained. "We left her at home to be guarded by Jonas." I caught his hidden undertone and smiled.

"Where's Preston?" Bex asked.

"Back at home, he was too embarrassed to come after you girls with us." Grant said with a subtle glance at Macey.

"And mom and Solomon?" I asked finally.

"Hopefully they aren't laughing." They still hadn't stopped when we left." Zach said as he rubbed his hair, I could tell he was a little embarrassed.

I laughed and leaned over to kiss his cheek. At the last second he turned his head so my kiss landed on his lips. I rolled my eyes but pulled him a little closer.

"Oye, I will make you regret even seeing each other if you don't watch your hands, Goode." Grant threatened. We just laughed and settled into the seat, trying to ignore Bex's knowing glance.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I'M SORRY I'M SUCH A HORRIBLE AUTHOR AND THAT I SUCK AT UPDATING! Oh, and if you see something that's wacky, like a chapter with no paragraphs or a ridiculous typo give me a heads up! Leave a comment and I'll get it fixed right away! **

Chapter 14

We pulled up to the house and immediately, a waiting Preston, jumped off the porch and ran towards the van.

"Finally! I thought you guys would never get back!" He yelled as he practically ripped the doors of their hinges. "They've been making out ever since you left and they won't stop!" He yelled with a crazy look in his eyes.

"WHAT?!" Bex, Macey, and I yelled in unison. We jumped out of the car and sprinted to the house.

We make it across the driveway and up to the door in six seconds flat, as one we burst through the door and were instantly drenched. As we pushed open the door a bucket full of who knows what fell from the doorframe and covered us all.

We let out a small gasp of surprise, small smiles playing on our lips when we looked up to see Jonas sitting there laughing, with Liz tied up and gagged behind him. Bruises covered her arms and there was a small cut on her cheek, the substance in the bucket forgotten, we glared at Jonas. He quickly stopped laughing when he saw our expressions, we were glowing with rage. Bex growled and we jumped on him, absolutely pummeling him. He fought back as best he could but he was no match for three extremely angry Gallagher Girls.

When Grant, Zach, and Preston heard Jonas' screams they raced through the front door. They came in with smiles on their face, but they quickly faded when they saw their friend.

"Whoa! Guys!" Grant yelled as he tried to pull Bex off of Jonas. Quickly Bex switched from hitting Jonas, to hitting Grant. When Bex was pulled from Jonas, Macey and I whirled around, the techie forgotten, as we attacked Preston. It wasn't long before Bex was free from Grant and joined us.

"Maybe this was a bad idea." Grant mumbled as he once again tried to get Bex off of Preston, but this time Bex was ready and fended him off.

"I told you so! Gallagher Girl!" Zach yelled as he tried to pull me away from his buddy. I shook him off and continued hitting Preston. "Bex, Macey, Cam, seriously!"

"HELP!" Preston yelled hoping to attract the attention of the adults in the house as he tried to fight us off.

My mom and Solomon ran out to see Grant and Zach failing to pull us off of Preston, Liz tied up, and Jonas groaning on the floor. My mom gasped and Solomon burst out into laughter. Seconds later my mother joined him.

"This isn't funny!" Grant yelled, a panicked look in his eyes. They only laughed harder.

"Are you going to help us get them off of Preston?" Zach asked wildly as I fought off his attempt to pull me away with a roundhouse kick to the gut.

Solomon fell, to the floor, I don't think I've ever heard him laugh this hard. In fact, I think this is the first time I've heard him do anything above a chuckle. My mom wiped her eyes as a constant stream of tears fell from them.

My mom was holding her stomach, trying to catch her breath when she finally replied. "Girls, girls" she said in between giggles. "Get off of Preston. He's learned his lesson." She dissolved into giggles once more.

Macey, Bex and I stepped away from the bleeding boy and ran a hand through our hair.

"I hope you've learned your lesson." Bex said examining her bruised knuckles.

"Next time, we won't go so easy on you." Macey said as she straightened her dress.

"I can't believe you tied up poor Lizzie." I exclaimed crossing to my tied up friend. I quickly untied her hands and let her pull the gag out of her mouth as I untied her ankles.

She stood up as soon as she was free, flustered she exclaimed "Well! Don't you boys go thinking we'll forget about this." She said crossing her arms, her southern accent more pronounced than ever.

"Aw, come on Liz, it was just a bit of fun." Jonas said, struggling to get off the floor.

"Don't you talk to me!" Liz said as she shoved Jonas back and stomped up the stairs.

I turned around and slapped Zach square across the face before following her upstairs.

"Come on Bex, you did the same to us!" Grant exclaimed. I heard rather than saw Bex punch him in the stomach. Grant let out a breath as the air was knocked from him.

I reached the top of the stairs and stood by Liz as we watched Bex give her reply. "That's not why we're mad." Bex announced before stepping over Jonas and stalking towards the stairs.

Macey kicked her leg up high, nailing Preston on the mouth. "Mess with one of us, you get all of us." She hissed before practically flying up the stairs in rage, together we walked to Macey and Bex's room, slamming the door behind us.

"Liz, are you alright?" We asked her in concern, as I locked the door.

She sniffed. "I think so, just a little bruised." We looked at her apologetically and she sniffed once more. "I understand that they wanted to get revenge but, they were so rough." She said showing us her bruising arms before tears started falling silently from her eyes.

"Oh Liz." Macey exclaimed before we engulfed her in a hug. She let out a forced laugh before stopping her tears and wiping her eyes.

"Those bloody idiots." The fire was gone from Bex's eyes as she gently stroked our best friends hair.

"They didn't mean to, I'm sure." Liz said quietly "Don't get mad at them for my sake. Especially you and Cammie, Bex. You just got them to ask you out." She said with a small smile.

"Our sisters come first Liz, you know that" I said smiling at her. "He's just going to have to get used to that."

"Seriously Liz, what they did was uncalled for, I swear when I saw those bruises, oh and that cut!" Macey let out a huff of frustration. "I could have killed them I was so mad!" She practically growled.

Liz practically beamed. "Thanks guys, your the best friends a girl could have." She said as she wrapped her skinny arms around our necks, then quickly pulled away. "Whew! What did they put in those buckets? You three smell awful!" We all laughed at our precious little techie friend, before wrapping her in another hug.

Two hours, three showers, and four hungry stomachs later, we finally decided to go back downstairs. We decided before hand that we would give no mercy and give the boys the silent treatment for the rest of the day.

With heads held high we quickly trotted down the stairs and into the kitchen. When they caught sight of us, the boys quickly climbed to their feet and started shouting out apologies while my mom and Solomon leaned up against the counter with mischievous looks in their eyes. I eyed them suspiciously but ignored the boys' cries.

Macey and I opened the cupboard, looking for things to eat that the four of us liked. We grabbed a bag of pretzels, some chips, pop tarts, peanut butter, and oreos before planting two bugs in the cupboard, and then walking to help Bex and Liz carry the drinks, ice cream, fruit, and utensils.

Without uttering a single word, we turned in unison to glare at the boys to send them into silence before going back up the stairs and shutting the door behind us. We quickly put down our snacks before turning on Liz's computer and watching to see what the bugs could gather.

The camera we planted didn't get much of a view, it only picked up Jonas and a fraction of my mom and Solomon since we had to hide it out of sight of the boys, but the microphone got plenty of sound.

It was silent for a few seconds before Grant spoke "So…" he said dragging out the "oh" sound "That didn't help at all."

"Help with what?" Bex asked. We shushed her.

"Yeah, no kidding." Jonas said rubbing his hands over his face and through his hair.

"How about Mrs. Morgan goes to ask them what they're mad about?" Preston suggested.

My mom shook her head. "Sorry guys, if you're going to have any hope with your future relationships, you've got to figure it out for yourselves."

"How about you Mr. S? You wanna ask them?" Zach asked.

We snorted in unison with Solomon. "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out, it was very obvious if you know the girls at all." The boys burst into protests so loud, we could hear them through the door. Mr Solomon held up a hand and they all stopped. "I know you four pride yourselves in knowing your girlfriends bu-"

"Macey is not my girlfriend!" Preston exclaimed, cutting Mr. Solomon off. Solomon stared at him and I assume Zach and Jonas hit him in the head, because he grunted in pain.

Solomon continued "But, how well do you really know these girls? If you think them half as well as you think it wouldn't be difficult. Heck, if you're half the assassins you think you are it wouldn't be difficult." Jonas winced and looked to the stairs when Solomon said assassin, we can only assume the others did too.

"Why are women so hard to understand!" Jonas exclaimed. All the boys groaned and we heard a few heads hit the table.

The boys fell silent, and we starting opening the food we brought upstairs with us, waiting for the boys to speak again.

I crossed with Liz to the bed and we leaned against the foot rest.

"I wonder why Jonas winced when Solomon said assassins." Liz pondered aloud. Macey crossed over to us and sat across from Liz.

"Maybe he doesn't want to be one?" I suggested. Liz shook her head.

"He probably isn't proud of it." Macey said, her eyes shifting from the oreos to Liz. "He looked to the stairs too, he probably doesn't want Liz to know what he really is." She said so quietly, I almost didn't catch it.

"But that's ridiculous, I already know." Liz answered just as quietly. This wasn't one of our favorite subjects.

"But they don't know that we know." I answered grabbing Liz's hand. Liz nodded.

"Guys!" Bex said, joining us with the laptop. "I think they're gonna start again." She said plopping down in between me and Liz, Macey hurried over to Liz's other side.

We sat eagerly waiting to see what the boys had to say. After almost two minutes I turned to Bex. "Bex, are you sure that-"

She cut me off. "I'm sure, give it a few more seconds." I sighed and resigned myself to waiting.

It was practically silent, the only sound being the intermittent sighs coming from the boys.

Startled, I almost jumped when Grant spoke again. "Mom, you're really sure you won't go talk to them for us?" He whined.

"Why that little-" I began before the girls cut me off trying to hear my mom's reply.

She chuckled a little. "I guess I'll go see what the girls have to say. I'm not promising anything, but I will go talk to them."

Jonas looked up so fast I thought it would give him whiplash, and Solomon looked shocked. "You really don't know why they're so upset?" Mr. Solomon asked surprised.

"Oh no, I know why they're upset, I just want to know how long they're going to keep the boys in the dark." She said with a wink and a smile before heading upstairs.

We leapt into action, Macey quickly hit play on her iPod and skipped to the middle of a song, Bex laid down on the bed and Liz and I situated ourselves in a more relaxed position before Liz picked up her laptop and Macey landed on the floor next to me, her head in my lap. I started to play with her hair as she started eating pretzels nonchalantly.

A few seconds after we reached our positions, we heard a knock on the door.

"Go away!" Macey yelled, acting as if she didn't know who it was. Liz picked up headphones from under the bed and plugged quickly before placing one in her left ear.

"Girls, its me!" My mom's voice came from the hallway.

"Bex, go get the door." I said before gesturing to Macey to give me a pretzel.

"Open your mouth." Macey said as Bex unlocked and pulled the door open.

My mom entered the room just as Macey threw a pretzel right into my mouth.

"Nice shot." Mom commented as she walked in and sat across from us. We sat in silence for a few seconds before my mom spoke again. "So girls, how long are you going to keep the boys in suspense?" She asked calmly.

"Hmmm…" Bex said thoughtfully. "Not sure, at least until the end of the day." She answered for all of us.

My mom nodded like that's what she thought. "I would do the same, if I'd noticed what they were doing, I would've stopped it. I must admit I was a little preoccupied at the time."

Macey and I shot our eyes towards my mom and we gave her a knowing glance. "What exactly were you preoccupied with?" Macey asked with a teasing tone.

Bex's head shot up as she climbed onto her stomach, her head just above mine. "Yes, please share." She asked waggling her eyebrows.

My mom gave us a withering look, "For your information, I was having a very important, very classified conversation with Mr. Solomon."

"Classified." Liz repeated with a small smile playing on her face.

Macey scoffed "Conversation." She wagged her eyebrows again.

I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing at my mothers expression, and it wasn't long before my friends joined me. My mom stared at us for several seconds before giving in and chuckling a few times after rolling her eyes.

"You girls remind me of Abby and I when we were your age. I see so much of us in you four." She said after we had calmed down.

"In what ways?" Macey asked with a smile on her face.

"Well, Cammie I think has most of our traits." She said thoughtfully.

"Surprise surprise." Bex said with a smile and a swat to my head.

"It is actually," My mom said "When Cammie was little, she was so much like her father. She's the spitting image. We figured that when she got older, she would either remain the spitting image of her dad or become exactly like Abby and I at that age, never in a million years would I have imagined that she would retain all of those traits."

"I can honestly say I never thought I'd see the day when someone said Cam was like Abby."

"Enough about me, I already know I'm like you." Cammie said

"Well, Macey is absolutely like Abby, a brilliant fashion sense, great friend, and an attitude like nobody's business. Not to mention she can hold her cover in the toughest of times." My mom said grinning at Macey.

"What about me!" Bex asked excitedly.

"I would like to say that you're most like me. It prides me to say that I was the toughest girl in my Gallagher class." Bex grinned wickedly. "I must admit, you do have Abby's sense of humor." My mom added.

"And now, little Lizzie. You are quite the genius, I can't say that I'm the smartest girl in the world but I like to think that certain trait can be attributed to me. You have a dark side that fits my younger years fabulously. You are incredibly loyal which fits both me and Abby. However you have a certain kind of charm that only fits Abby." My mom explained to us.

"Well, sounds like Liz has the best mix out of all of us." Macey said with a laugh.

"I agree." I said nudging Liz's arm as she smiled at the description.

"I think most of it rubbed off on me from Cammie and Bex. They've brought me nothing but trouble!" Liz said teasingly.

"Hey, don't look at me, it's all Cammie!" Bex said defensively.

"Not this again!" I groaned, dropping my head in my hands.

"I must admit, I'm curious." My mom said leaning forward.

"We've decided that Cammie is the source of all our trouble." Bex said with a smile.

My mom smiled wide. "And how did you reach this conclusion?"

"None of us got into any trouble before Cammie, and all the sudden we're having the greatest adventures of our lives!" Macey said with a nudge to my arm.

"That's not how you phrased it last time!" I exclaimed laughing.

"It's true!" My mom exclaimed as she laughed louder than I have ever heard her laugh before.

"Mom!" I exclaimed laughing. We giggled until our sides ached.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but you're trouble!" This makes Bex and Macey explode with laughter.

I tried to act mad, tried to be offended but it was very true! I think I laughed harder than anyone else.

"We better warn the boys, I don't think they know what they're getting into!" Liz said as she giggled.

"Well, I don't know, they may not be able to get out of it! She may never let the go now!" Macey joked. I could barely breathe I was laughing so hard.

"Well, I certainly can't let you guys go! You know far too much!" I got out between giggles.

"Well, I certainly know more than I wish I did!" Liz said with a wink.

With that wink, she communicated hundreds of things. First she communicated, that we should follow her lead. Second she communicated that, she knew something we didn't and we she jostled her computer slightly, everything clicked into place. My mom had brought a bug with her,whether she meant to or not, and the boys were watching. It's time to mess with the guys. The final thing she communicated with that wink was that we were going to have to get creative. She planned to drive the guys crazy and I knew that there was no one better at revenge than Liz.

I laughed and flipped my hair a little. "Well you guys are no saints either, I can't believe some of the stuff you guys talked me into!"

Macey caught on next. "You weren't all that hard to persuade some of those times!"

"Come on Cam, we all know no one has more fun with our ideas than you do!" she winked at me. Bex's response surprised me, but nothing prepared me for my mom to start playing along. Maybe she knew about the bug and didn't agree.

"Cammie, how often do you come up with these schemes? How many do I know about?" She asked with a smile

Macey raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You don't even know the half of it, we've only told you about the more...innocent ones." She drawled out slowly, winking at the end.

I was terrified, I did not want to know what was going through her mind. I was kind of hoping the girls would just let it go and move on. I was sorely disappointed.

Liz hopped on the idea. "I honestly can't believe some of the things we've done on town days!"

"I can't believe the townies went along with some of the ideas!" Bex added in, excited at the change of topic.

"I for one can't believe how creative Cammie got!" Macey exclaimed pushing the topic even farther. Who knew what the guys were thinking!

"I should start sending Solomon to watch you girls! You're a bad influence on the younger ones." My mom said teasingly. "But just out of curiosity, what exactly have you girls been up to?"

"I'm afraid that's a secret." I said trying to change the subject before the girls came up with something insane.

"Well, parts of it are." Macey said as she smiled wickedly.

"Color me curious, what happened?" She asked leaning forward on her knees.

"Well, it all started on the first town day we went on like ever." Liz began.

"We've been doing it ever since, we convinced Macey to do it with us when she came." Bex added.

"I'm afraid all I can say about this, is that it starts out with guy in the middle of the night, involves four different kinds of fruit, a hammer, honey, peanut butter, and ends with a bang!" I said trying to bring the conversation to an end.

"Cammie, you forgot the most important detail!" Macey exclaimed.

"We can't tell her that!" Bex said hitting Macey softly to get her to stop talking. "All we can share is that...well, it's why our uniforms get so dirty."

"It also explains some of our more interesting bruises and cuts." Macey added in. "And why Cammie hates the word flamingo." I winced for good measure when she said it, trying to play along, but inside I was asking myself 'Flamingo?'

"It explains why Macey refuses to eat french toast any more too!" I added in, trying to get revenge for the flamingo comment.

"And why Liz refuses to eat peanut butter." Bex added in thoughtfully.

"Well of course Bex can't see a plum anymore without-" Liz tried to say before I cut her off.

"Without thinking of that one night in 8th grade when that one guy, who can remember their names, 'accidentally' slipped and landed right-" Macey cut me off this time.

"Right on her lap and his hand went-" Bex cut her off before she could get too graphic.

"OKAY! Now we're getting to the part of the story we can't mention anymore." Bex said waving her hands wildly.

My mother raised her eyebrows. "Well, I was certainly right about you girls being like me and Abby."

"I don't think I want to know!" I said quickly.

"I do!" Bex said. "May give us some good ideas."

"Well, let's say that we did something very similar... just maybe not as creative. You girls really are something else." She said with a wink and a smile. "I'll leave you to your silent treatment, let me know if you need anything." She waved goodbye and walked out of the room.

We waited exactly 15 seconds before Liz gave us the all clear. "She took the bug with her, we're good."

"What the heck was that?" I exclaimed before whacking Macey on the arm.

"What was what?" She asked before hitting me back.

"The whole 'Cammie's the most creative' crap!" I said hitting her again.

"I was going with the plan! That was the whole plan, we were trying to drive the guys nuts and that's how I was going to do it! I promise Zach won't stop thinking about you." Macey said, moving to hit me each time she said plan.

"Guys! Check this out, I recorded the guys' reaction to our stories, it's what I was watching the whole time, it was hilarious." Liz said pulling her computer into view for all of us.

"Jonas is that bug up yet?" Zach asked his friend impatiently.

"Just about, I've got picture, no sound."

"Dude! Hurry up!" Preston yelled.

"Chill, she's still in the hallway! Aaaaaand, we've got sound." Jonas said hitting a few keys.

"Boys, I'm telling you, this is a horrible idea." Solomon said.

"I'm out of ideas! This is all I can think of! I honestly have no idea! Besides, this is how assassins would do it." Zach said.

"Zach out of ideas? The world is ending." I said sarcastically.

"Shhh!" Bex exclaimed

A few minutes went by without a comment. "They didn't mention why they're mad!" Preston whispered. "What the heck are we going to do?"

"Well shut up first of all, it may come up again." Grant said leaning closer to the screen.

They fell into silence again.

There was some background noise, probably our conversation.

"Cam really is a good mix of Abby and Rachel." Grant commented.

"Don't I know it." Zach said appreciatively. I blushed.

"You know Liz is kind of incredible." Jonas said about a minute later, I guess they got to the part about Liz. The best was about to come.

"Whoa, wait what's that supposed to mean?" Zach asked quickly.

"Wait what happened?" Grant asked a few seconds later.

"I'm lost, I'm so lost." Preston said rubbing his hands through his hair.

"Flamingo?" Zach asked himself.

"Plums? What happened! I want the rest of the story!" Grant practically yelled.

"What on earth do these girls get up to?" Solomon asked. All the boys turned to look at Solomon quickly before looking back at the screen.

"Well boys, did you find what you're looking for?" My mom asked as she threw the bug from the top of the stairs to the table.

"Not really." Jonas said before realizing what he just admitted.

"You sir, are the smartest idiot I know." Zach said lightly hitting Jonas on the head.

"Boys, you may never find out why the girls are mad, the best advice I can give you is to start groveling." Solomon said and we turned the computer off.

"Well that was interesting." Macey said with a small smile.

"I don't understand men." I said rubbing my eyes.

"That's okay, they don't understand us either." Liz said copying my motion.

"I wonder how they're going to try to grovel." Bex said thoughtfully.

"Candlelit dinner on the beach? Night beneath the stars?" Macey said wistfully.

"Well whatever it is, I hope it's not tonight." I commented as I got up to stretch my legs.

"Why not tonight?" Liz asked.

"Because we'll be at the party." I said as I grabbed a carton of ice cream off the dresser.

"What party?" Macey asked.

"Did I forget to tell you about that? Sawyer mentioned it earlier, there's a party at the beach tonight, sundown to sunrise, bonfires, s'mores, night surfing, the works! It sounds epic! I told him we would be there." I said nonchalantly.

"Hmm...The guys will never let us go alone...we'll have to sneak out." Bex said with a smile.

"Should be easy. Mom expects us to be up here moping the whole time, the boys will just think we're ignoring them and Solomon won't care." I said thinking it through.

"We can get out and in through the windows easily." Liz put in.

"Since it's a beach party we don't have to wear anything too fancy which makes climbing easier." Macey finished.

"Well, we've got like 2 hours to finalize plans and to create back ups and fail safes." Liz said.

"Are we staying the whole time?" Bex asked.

"Heck yeah!" I exclaimed. "We need some stories to give to Tina after all." I winked and pulled my hair up into a knot moving to my room to find something to wear.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Guueeeessss who finally posted! ME! Enjoy guys. Review if you feel like it.**

Chapter 15

As the day grew to its end and the hours ticked down, the girls and I formed plans, and backup plans, backup plans for the backup plans, excuses, stories, and escape routes in case things go sour. Eventually, an hour before sundown, we finally had a plan that would hopefully get us through the night. We had talked about our backstory and what little details we could worm into our lives without it being a threat to Gallagher's security, everything was to be handled very carefully.

"Alright girls, lets get ready to party!" Macey whispered at us.

"Why are you whispering?" I asked at normal volume.

"So no one overhears." She whispered again.

"Oh." Bex Liz and I whispered, drawing out the "Oh" sound as we understood.

"Remember girls, cute and functional." Bex instructed. We nodded as we walked away.

"I'm serious girls!" Bex whisper/yelled at us from the bathroom doorway. We gave a mock salute before closing our bathroom door behind us.

"Okay Liz, I don't know about you but I'm planning to spend most of my time in the water!" I said crossing to my closet.

"Same, I'd really rather avoid contact with civilians tonight." Liz said as she walked to the dresser.

"It's all fun and games until someone gets their memory erased." I mumbled.

"Isn't that the truth." Liz said pulling open a drawer.

I pulled an t-shirt and some shorts out of the closet before crossing over to where Liz stood. She pulled a bathing suit out of the dresser before crossing to the closet. I decided to wear the high waisted black shorts with the pink bandeau top, and Liz wore her matching one. We threw our shorts and t-shirts on before walking over to Bex and Macey's room and knocking on the door.

"You guys ready?" I asked as Bex opened the door.

"Just about" She said with a sigh. Macey sat in front of the mirror, doing her make-up.

"Do you guys have everything you need?" Macey asked from where she sat.

"Yeah." We replied as we patted our beach bags.

"Do you think we should bring our boards?" I asked Liz as we sat down on the bed.

"We might as well, so no matter what we can surf." She replied after only a moment of thought.

I nodded my agreement."You guys are ditching us to surf?" Bex asked.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Liz said with a smile.

Bex gave us an exasperated look before mouthing 'That means I have to stay with Macey.'

I mouthed back 'Sorry!' and gave her a pouty face.

She rolled her eyes and turned to Macey. "Looks like I'm with you Mace." She said with fake enthusiasm.

"Don't worry Bex we'll have fun!" Macey said "Liz, did you set up those surveillance cameras?"

"They're up and running. We'll be able to access them from any kind of computer." Liz informed her.

"What about the temporary security systems?" She questioned.

"Armed and ready to go." I answered for her, I doubled checked them about 20 times.

"And the bugs are recording their every move." Liz finished.

"Okay, we all know the plan right?" Macey checked again as she turned around.

We all nodded our affirmations. "Brilliant!" Bex exclaimed. "Lets go!"

Bex and Macey crossed to their window and Liz and I walked back to our room to open our window. At a silent signal, Liz and Macey started to descend. They quickly checked the back window to make sure that the curtains were closed, concealing our exit. When they gave the all clear, Bex and I slowly lowered ourselves out of our windows, closing them as much as we could before climbing down the wall and landing safely on the back porch. Liz and I crossed to where we kept the surfboards and quickly and silently grabbed one for each of us. We trekked silently from the back yard, past the pool, down the beach in the direction of the party. As soon as we were sure we were out of hearing range, we chatted quietly with each other.

"How did you meet these guys again?" Liz asked.

"They just kinda came up to us on the beach." Macey answered.  
"Did they seem at all suspicious?" She asked worriedly.

"No, they seemed totally normal." Bex answered reassuringly.

"Trust me Liz, it will be totally fine." I said with a smile. "Plus, we'll be in the water the whole time"

"Not until you talk to Sawyer."

"As soon as I say hi to Sawyer." I amended with a smile and Liz laughed.

"Okay well, I guess we might as well try to enjoy ourselves tonight, right?" Liz said, the smile still present on her face.

About a half hour later, it was a lot longer when you weren't sprinting, we finally reached the stretch of beach that was clearly taken over by a party.

"Alright, first thing is first, find Sawyer, Xavier and Sam." Macey instructed as she strutted towards the group. "Remember girls, cling to your cover, its all we have."

Immediately, we adjusted our posture and facial expressions. In the blink of an eye we became rich heiresses that were looking for trouble. I had to adjust my cover slightly so I didn't seem out of character to Sawyer, but anyone could see that my friends and I were anything but innocent good girls.

A few minutes later, after the whispers had started,we found them. "I spy with my little eye…" I trailed off staring right at Sam and Xavier, Sawyer was just off to the side.

"Good eye Cam." Bex said with a small drawl to her voice.

"Come on, lets get this over with, I wanna get in the water." Liz said in an annoyed voice. I had never seen someone change so drastically to fit a cover.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" Macey said in a flirty voice as we approached the boys.

"Hey check out what the cat dragged in!" Xavier said with a wink to Bex.

"Look what the dog brought back" Bex said with a smile on her face. Anyone who knew Bex knew how dangerous that smile really was, Bex was not happy about having to spend the night with this guy.

"Hey there Cam!" Sawyer said with a grin.

I smiled right back at him. "Hey Sawyer, this is my friend Liz." I said introducing my beautiful southern belle of a friend.

"Hey Liz! I'm Sawyer." He said sticking out his hand. Liz paused for half a second before giving him half a smile and shaking his hand.

"Well Hi." Liz said with her southern accent thick.

"You guys any good at surfing?" Sawyer asked, gesturing to our boards.

"Better than most." I said cockily.

Sawyer beamed. "Great! I think we're going to have tons of fun tonight." He winked. "But first, house rules, all swimmers have to wear at least one glow stick at all times, we don't want to lose anyone." He pulled three necklace glow sticks out of his pocket and handed one to both me and Liz before putting one on himself.

Liz and I cracked the sticks and shook them to help them glow before wrapping them around our necks. "You ready for this?" I asked Liz.

"Totally." She replied as we pulled off our shirts and shorts. We threw our clothes in our bags before handing them to Bex and Macey.

"Keep an eye on these for us?" I asked them.

"Sure thing, you gonna be in the water?" Bex asked eyeing my ensemble jealously.

I nodded before leaning in to give her a hug. "Get away if you can." I said, knowing she would do everything in her power to get into the water.

"Come on guys, I plan on staying in the water until the sun rises!" I exclaimed as Sawyer Liz and I ran towards the water.

We hit the water running, the cool water felt amazing in the humid Florida air. We all swam towards the waves that were starting to build on the horizon. As I ducked under the first wave and surfaced next to my sister, I knew that this night would be one to remember.

As Liz caught the next wave and managed to surf it with more skill than anyone else there, Sawyer let out a whistle of appreciation. "You guys weren't kidding. You're almost as good as I am!" He said with a wink.

"Oh really, why not put your money where your mouth is?" I teased back.

"You're on!" He challenged and we took off into the waves.

Don't ever tell anyone this, but I lost track of time. We surfed and surfed and surfed, never leaving the water once. I was euphoric, Liz and I laughed and messed around with Sawyer, who was actually a really cool guy. We learned more about him, and he learned more about our covers as we rode the waves all across the beach. After a few hours, Sawyer left to go chill on the beach for a while, while he was gone Liz and I pulled out some wicked moves with our spy skills, but we made sure we were far enough from the beach that no one would notice. After his break, Sawyer rejoined us, refreshed and ready to go. If it weren't for our endurance training, Liz and I would've crashed ages ago. My hands and feet had long since turned to prunes when Bex finally appeared in the water near us.

"Hey! Cammie!" She yelled from a few yards away.

"BEX!" I yelled back to her, a huge grin on my face.

We started swimming towards each other, Liz hot on my heels as we met in the middle.

"Wow, what a party right?" Bex said with a smile, and I could tell that she was having as much fun as we were.

"No kidding!" I said with a small laugh, I had been out of breathe for ages and I was now fighting to catch my breath.

"Do you guys realize that you've been out here for about 5 hours already?" Bex commented. "There's only about four more until sunrise." I deflated a little.

"Only four?" I said disappointed.

"That can't be right." Liz said sounding as disappointed.

"Oh trust me, that's right. There's no other possible explanation for Macey's sudden grumpiness." Bex said exasperated.

"Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good." I said swiping a piece of hair out of my face.

"She's sleeping on the beach right now though, I think she'll be fine." Bex said with a wave of her hand.

"You left her sleeping alone on the beach?" Liz asked incredulously. "What if someone tries to hurt her?"

"Heaven help the sucker that tries." I said with a laugh and I slapped Bex's hand.

"Any way, I decided I was going to hang with you guys until it was time to go, that cool?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Of course!" I exclaimed loudly.

"What kind of question is that?" Liz asked giggling.

"HEY!" Sawyers voice came from a few yards away. "I thought we were here to surf!" I could practically hear his smile.

"We are!" We yelled back in unison as we took off into the waves.

The rest of the night passed in a blur. We surfed, and swam, and wiped out, and pulled crazy tricks, and even created a few games. I have never had so much fun in the water in my entire life.

Hours later, when the sky began to lighten, we finally dragged ourselves to shore.

"I must admit," Sawyer wheezed as we all tried to catch a final wave to shore. "You girls are pretty hard core."

"That so?" I said uninterested

"Yeah, I mean, I'm pretty sporty, I'm super into all different kinds of fighting. You know, mixed martial arts, any kind of karate, wrestling, basically any contact sport, but I've never seen anyone do what you can do, except for maybe my brother."

"What's so special about your brother?" I asked trying to get his attention off of us.

"He's in the marines, off fighting for his country and all that jazz." He said suddenly a little sad.

"That's rough" I said looking over at him, sympathizing. I squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"When does he get back from wherever he is?" Bex asked, a little distractedly, her eyes on the horizon. I knew she was trying not to think about the similarities between his situation and her situation with her parents away on a mission.

"Soon, hopefully." He answered, keeping hold of my hand.

"Is your brother the only one that's fought for his country in your family?" I asked, feeling there was more to the story.

"Nah, my dad's in the marines as well. He disappeared a few months back," I knew that feeling all too well. "There's currently a search party out looking for him. They got a lead on their position about a week ago. Hopefully he'll be home soon."

"He'll be proud of his son whenever he gets back." Liz said softly. "You're a really great guy Sawyer."

Sawyer's smile returned. "Thanks guys." he reached over and grabbed my arm, and Liz's before pulling us under his arms in a kind of awkward side hug that can only be achieved while sitting in the ocean on surfboards. We giggled and hugged him back.

"THERE'S ONE!" Bex screamed and well took off towards the giant waved headed our way.

We caught the wave perfectly and made it back to shore without an incident. As soon as we reached the sand, we collapsed in a heap, the waves still reaching our ankles and licking our legs. "You lied Bex." I said as I tried in vain to catch my breath and avoid falling asleep.

"I did?" She said a little confused but just as exhausted.

"You said it was only four hours until sunrise, it's been five." I commented as I prepared myself to stand up.

"My apologies." She said as she stretched.

"Okay girls, time to go." Macey's fully awake, very rested sounding voice came too loud.

"Five more minutes." Liz whined as she curled on her surfboard.

"No way, Mom and Solomon are going to flip if they find out we're gone. We can't afford to waste anymore time." Macey said as she dropped a chocolate bar on each of our chests. "Eat this, and lets go."

"Ooo! Chocolate" I said as I popped up and ripped open the package. Bex quickly followed my example while Liz just groaned.

"Come on Lizzie, it will make you feel better!" I exclaimed way too loud. Liz groaned again before rolling to a sitting position to open the package.

"I want some!" Sawyer whined looking like a kicked puppy. I broke off a piece and placed it in his mouth. "That's good stuff." He said before rolling over, looking like he had every intention of spending the rest of the day there.

"Sawyer! Bro! There you are! We thought you were a goner!" Xavier yelled way too loudly as he stalked down the beach.

We all groaned, Bex loudest of all. "That's our cue, later Sawyer." Bex said quickly climbing to her feet, pulling me with her.

"No, please don't leave me." He reach up to us like a dying man.

"I'm afraid we must" I said while giving him a salute. "We'll see you around." I promised as I picked up my board and went to help Bex and Macey get Liz up.

"Bye Sawyer" Liz mumbled as we pulled her to her feet and started walking in the direction of our house.

"Take me with you!" He called as we stumbled away.

The walk back to our house was anything but pleasant. We grumbled, tripped, groaned and complained the whole way back. After about 45 minutes of walking the house was finally in sight.

"Finally!" Bex mumbled as we walked up the stretch of beach to the back of the house.

"Shh!" I shushed her, this was the most dangerous part and not a sound could be made.

As we neared the house, our adrenaline started pumping and our instincts kicked in. We silently put our boards away and positioned ourselves beneath the windows. Bex and I climbed up first, to make sure it was safe and they weren't laying in wait. There's no need for all of us to climb the wall if they're going to catch us anyway. After we searched the rooms and bathroom, double checking that the security system was in place, armed, and nothing was out of place we gave the all clear. Macey and Liz scaled the wall into the rooms perfectly without making a sound.

We whispered our goodnights and set our alarms so we didn't sleep all day, then changed quickly and quietly. We hurried to hide all evidence of our night out before crashing onto our beds. I was asleep the second my head hit the pillow.

Let me be the first to say that after you've been awake for about 22 hours, an additional 6 hours of sleep is not enough. We fell asleep as the sun crossed the horizon, at about 6:00 in the morning, so around the time the boys left for their run. Now sleeping until noon is usually a pleasure, something to enjoy, but if you've only had 6 hours of sleep it feels more like death.

Needless to say I was not a happy Cammie when my alarm went off. After a groan from Liz, I did us both a favor and threw the clock across the room. It sounded like it shattered when it hit the wall, but all that mattered to me was that the infernal beeping stopped.

The relief, however, was short lived because a mere 10 minutes later, our secondary alarm came in. AKA Macey.

"Come on girls, up and at em!" She yelled, jumping on the bed.

We groaned in reply.

"Come on, the guys are gonna start getting suspicious." She said jumping up and down on the bed as if it were a trampoline.

We groaned again, perfectly portraying how we had zero intention of getting up.

"Bex, come help me wake up Cammie and Liz!" Macey called to her in next room.

"Oh this sounds like fun!" Bex came running into the room and immediately jumped on the bed.

Liz and I groaned louder.

"Come on girls! Today is going to be great!" This one sentence was more than enough to shake me out of my stupor and to spike my curiosity.

"Why?" I asked opening one and eye and lifting it to Bex's face.

Liz stopped grumbling and looked up at Macey and Bex as well.

"Well…" Macey said drawing out the the l sound at the end. "We may or may not have overheard certain blackthorne boys talking about their plans to apologize."

"The bugs caught something?" Liz exclaimed quickly as she shot up.

"They figured out why we're mad?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes," She said pointing to Liz "and no." Macey finished pointing to me.

"They just decided that they obviously did something wrong and they have quite the plan to fix it." Bex said excitedly.

"Well, don't leave us hanging! What is it?" I asked finally sitting up.

"We don't know." Macey said shrugging. "They caught the bugs before they made any real plans. All we saw was Zach had a great idea and that he expected us to be in love with them again by the end of the week. We got a letter about 10 minutes ago under the door saying to dress up and be ready in two hours."

"Well, then we better get ready." I sighed.

Liz and I slowly climbed out of bed, Liz sighed and scratched her head watching sand fall from her hair. Bex then copied the motion with similar results.

"Okay, that's disgusting. Liz you shower first, Bex you next, then Cam and I will." Macey said wrinkling her nose.

So the prepping began. Macey turned on her iPod and blasted it through our rooms, as Liz showered, Macey, Bex, and I started looking at outfits. We started with Macey. As we pooled our closets together, trying to find the best possible ensemble for her. We were finding absolutely nothing, we had no idea what we were doing so we didn't know what to plan for. I was about to give up when we heard a knock on the door.

"Who's there?" I called.

"It's mom." My mom replied. I went to go and open the door, almost forgetting to turn off the alarm system.

"Hey girls, I thought you might need some help picking out what to wear." She surveyed the mess of clothes everywhere. "It looks like I was right. Gee it looks like a clothing hurricane hit." She joked picking her way through the mess.

"Do you know what they have in store for us?" Bex asked.

"Yes, I do." My mom replied picking up a few shirts and holding them up before dropping them on the ground again.

"Well, what is it?" Macey asked impatiently.

"I promised not to say anything." She answered as she stared at one of Macey's tops before throwing it over her shoulder. "You girls really don't have anything to wear for what they have planned though." She said thoughtfully. She tapped her finger to her lip a few times before coming to a decision. "Okay, I'm going to go and talk to the boys, you three shower and put on something comfortable. They boys will have to push back their plans, we're going shopping. Hurry up, we've got a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of time. I'll be back to get you in half an hour." She clapped her hands and walked to the door. "You can use the shower down the hall by the way, it's safe."

She shut the door after her and I just looked at my friends in shock. Macey smiled. "It looks like our shopping trip just got pushed up a bit."

"That's an understatement." I said picking up a pair of jean cut-off shorts and one of my t-shirts.

"Liz hurry up! There's a change of plans!" Macey said marching off to talk to liz.

"Hey Cam, you should wear this!" Bex said throwing a dark floral crop top and matching pink skirt at me.

"These aren't mine" I protested holding up the items.

"The top is mine and the skirt actually is yours miss I-don't-know-what's-in-my-closet. It'll look cute I promise, just pretty please try it on?" She begged. I looked closer at the ensemble, it actually was pretty cute.

"Fine, but you have to wear this." I said throwing Macey's off the shoulder red top and some black shorts at her.

"This is Macey's." She stated holding up the top.

"I know, but it will look great on you and Mace won't mind. Wear it with those thigh high black socks and the combat boots with a tiny heel on them. It'll look great if you wear it with," I crossed to my jewelry box and pulled out the silver dog tags "this." I finished throwing the necklace at her.

She looked it over for a minute before nodding her agreement. "But as long as we're picking outfits out for each other," She said tossing me her skinny black belt to go with it.

"This works but what about shoes?" I asked her impatiently.

"Patience child!' She exclaimed crossing over to where we had set up the shoes from our combined closets. She picked out the boots she planned on wearing before examining the remaining shoes very carefully. Eventually she decided on a pair of black studded wedges.

"These will look great with that." She said leaving no room for argument.

"But-" I tried to argue but she cut me off with a wave of her hand. I stared at the ensemble carefully, spending extra time looking at the shoes. "They are kinda…" I trailed off.

"Hot?" She suggested.

"Yeah, but I was thinking more along the lines of...dangerous."

"Oh, you mean se-" I cut her off before she could finish her sentence.

"You know I hate that word!" I reminded her.

She winked at me before crossing to her jewelry box. She pulled open the lid and surveyed the contents carefully before tossing me her small gold locket, the one I gave her our first year at Gallagher.

"You sure?" I asked holding up the necklace.

"Totally." She said without a trace of doubt in her voice.

"Bex, your turn in the shower, Cam you can go get in the one down the hall." Macey said coming back into the room.

"See you girls soon." Bex said with a smile as she crossed to the bathroom.

"You can go shower first Mace," I said gesturing to the door. "I already know what I'm going to wear and I can shower fast."

"You sure?" She asked before gathering her bathroom bag.

"Definitely, go on." I said waving her off before crossing through the bathroom, (scaring Bex), to go put my clothes down.

"Cammie, thank heavens." Liz said as soon as I crossed the door frame. "I have no idea what to wear." She exclaimed throwing her arms up. She stood there in front of the closet in just her dressing robe, her wet hair dripping down the carpet.

"We made quite the compilation of clothes in Bex and Macey's room, we can find something in there. Most of your stuff is in there too, sorry about that by the way." I said a little guiltily.

"Oh thank heavens, I thought I was going crazy!" She said sighing in relief. We crossed through the bathroom, once again scaring Bex, to the mess of clothing and shoes. After a miraculous three and a half minutes we found something for Liz to wear.

We had finally decided on a pale pink skirt that hung off her delicate frame beautifully. We paired it with a light cream colored crop top that had small bits of floral pattern across it and some adorable pink heels that tied the outfit together perfectly. After grabbing her favorite charm bracelet out of her jewelry box (and getting a "Bloody-" from Bex) she crossed back to our room to change.

I ran a hand through my sandy hair resigning myself to wait, when the water shut off and a still angry Bex Baxter exited the bathroom, with a scowl on her face.

"Your turn Cam, watch your back I'm going to get revenge for all of that." She said mumbling mostly to herself.

"Thanks Bex, be out in the shake of a lambs tail."

"What does a bloody lamb got to do with anything!" She yelled after me and I just laughed.

"It's an expression Bex!" Came Liz's voice from down the hall.

"It's a stupid expression!" Bex replied continuing their conversation.

I quickly turned on the shower and faster than I thought possible, I managed to de-sand myself and moisturize myself by the time Macey made it back to her room.

"That was impressive Cam." Liz said as I finished dressing and opened the door to let the other girls in.

"Thank you, thank you, I know." I said with a smile playing on my face.

"Well, get out of the way and be impressive in your room, we've got to finish getting ready!" Macey exclaiming carting her makeup into the bathroom.

I swiftly blow-dried my hair and ran a brush through it, making it soft and shiny before going to finish getting ready with my friends. As we all stood in a line in front of the mirror, each of us passing things back and forth without even needing to say a word I couldn't help but smile at our silent communication.

I caught Bex's eye in the mirror and raised an eyebrow at her, making her laugh suddenly. As my best friends and I joined in her laughter, we all seemed to be thinking the same thing, but it was Macey who said it aloud.

"We should just forget the guys." She stated as she resumed checking her makeup

"Seriously, with friends like you guys, I won't ever need a boyfriend." I echoed her movements.

"Guys with come and go-" Liz began

"But girlfriends last forever." Bex finished throwing her arms around Macey and Liz who wrapped an arm around me, connecting us all.

We turned as we heard the click of a camera. "You girls, are so beautiful." My mom said as she pocketed the camera.

We looked over at her and smiled. "We're ready to go, but I'm just warning you the boys are downstairs in the kitchen and have no intention of moving." She warned as we moved to grab our shoes from off the bathroom counter.

"What do we do?" I asked the other girls as I leaned down to put on the heels "We said we were going to wait until today to talk to them, but I'm not quite sure thats the best move at this point."

"I think we wait to see what they do, don't openly reject them but don't go to them either. Wait to see if they come to you, and don't make it seem like we've forgiven them because I sure haven't." Macey said "It took five minutes to cover up Lizzies bruises." She held up the bottle of concealer.

"I haven't either, I mean it was liz." Bex said pulling her curled naturally curly gorgeous caramel hair over one shoulder.

"If it were me, Bex or even Macey I would say we were taking it too far, but it really just wasn't okay." I agreed as we shut off the lights and moved towards the door.

"You guys know you don't have to do this for me, I'm okay, really." Liz injected feebly, as she picked up her messenger bag.

"But we're not Liz, these are the boys that we're trusting with our hearts and they can't even see what they did thats wrong. We're not spies yet, and it will never be okay for one of them to injure our sister." Bex defended.

"I agree, this is something that should not be overlooked." My mom agreed with us.

"Come on girls, backs straight, heads high, smiles on." Macey said as we opened the door and strutted into the hallway.

Well, to be a bit more specific, Macey strutted looking absolutely amazing, Bex kind of stalked but somehow made it look feminine, Liz was gliding like a fairy that had occasional balance problems, while my roommates gracefully made their way down the hall I just kind of crept along behind them, wishing I could avoid facing the boys for the rest of my life.

As we started down the stairs, I looked over the top of the stairs to see the boys whispering. When they noticed my mom wasn't alone they all jumped to their feet. They stood in silence as we finished descending the staircase and started towards the kitchen, but before Macey, who was in the lead, could step a foot in the kitchen they decided to speak.

"Mace." Preston said, sorrow on his voice.

"What." Macey replied emotionlessly. Liz wordlessly backed up towards the wall, Bex and I followed.

"I'm sorry, I'm a jerk, and rude, and heartless, and unappreciative, and blind, and stupid because I still can't figure out why you're mad, but I need you to know that I'm sorry." He started walking towards her. "I'm sorry that I made you upset, I'm sorry that I'm not even a quarter of the guy that you need, that you deserve but I can't say I'm sorry that I'm going to kiss you right now." He surged forward and pressed his lips to hers, catching us all of guard.

What surprised the boys however was that Macey kissed him back. She held him to her for just a moment but that was all that Preston needed to push his luck a little farther and clutch her close to him. I made eye contact with Bex before surging forward and grabbing Preston by the arm, surprising him enough that he let go.

"That's enough." I said quietly. "Let's go guys." I said grabbing Macey's arm and pulling her away so we could go and squeal in the car.

Bex and Liz quickly followed us as we stalking through the kitchen. I glanced once at Macey to see a small smile playing on her lips and lovestruck look on her face.

I couldn't help but grin at my best friends fortune, she deserved to be happy.

We managed to make it out to the car without uttering a sound but the second the doors were closed, we exploded.

We joined in simultaneous screaming and squealing while my mom laughed and pulled out of the driveway. Bex turned around to face Me, Macey, and Liz in the back seat, an enormous grin on her face.

"I was _not_ expecting that." Bex said her british accent thick with her excitement.

"I don't think any of us were!" I replied echoing her excitement. "Mace?" I asked my stunned friend. Her face was flushed and she couldn't stop smiling, I had never seen her like this and it was equal parts ridiculous and adorable.

"That was incredible! I can't believe he did that!" She exclaimed finally.

"I didn't think he had it in him!" Liz put in, fiddling on her computer.

"Lizzie, what could you possibly be doing at a time like this?" I asked her confused.

"I may or may not have planted more bugs downstairs…" she said sheepishly.

"WHAT?!" We yelled in unison, all trying to see the screen.

"Just audio, but they've been recording the whole time. Since before Preston's move." She explained turning the volume up all the way on her laptop. "Are you guys ready?" She asked, her finger hovering above the play button.

"YES!"

"HURRY UP LIZ"

"I WAS READY TEN MINUTES AGO!"

And other similar answers quickly burst from our mouths.

"Okay, okay, I'm hitting play!" She yelled hitting the button, we all leaned closer to hear.

Oh boy, we were not prepared for what came out of the speakers.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Jonas' voice was the first to break the silence. "Well, that definitely went better than I anticipated."

"Yeah but it also didn't go as well as I anticipated." Zach's voice rang out louder than Jonas' he must have been closer.

"I think all things considered it could have been much, much worse." Grant put it. "Bex and I made eye contact it she didn't look _as_ furious so I guess that's something."

"I think we're making progress here." Preston said a little dreamily.

The boys erupted into roars. "Oh that's only cause you got to make out with McHenry." Grant yelled at him. "Totally unfair."

"Well last I checked, none of you losers even attempted to talk to your girlfriends, you don't know how they would've responded." Preston tried to defend.

Zach snorted. "Nothing like McHenry thats for sure." Someone snickered.

"He's not kidding," Grant put in "Cam and Bex would take turns walloping us, no way we'd receive that warm of a welcome if we made a move on them in this state."

"Amen." Bex said reaching over her hand for me to slap, I obliged.

"Jo, any progress on figuring out what made them so mad?" Preston asked out of the blue.

"None, I've watched the footing about a hundred times now, I've got nothing. They're perfectly fine, even looked like they were gonna laugh with us for a while then all of the sudden, they're ticked!" He informed the group.

"Footage? We've got to get that." Macey said quietly

"Well, I'm stumped." Grant said after a few minutes of silence. We skipped most of it, we were almost to their live conversation.

"Me too." Preston said.

"I've got nothing." Jonas added

"I'm...still thinking." Zach said thoughtfully.

"Well, you could always ask them." Solomon put in, speaking for the first time.

Liz jumped "I forgot he was there." She said quietly.

"What? Are you insane?!" Jonas asked loudly.

"Absolutely not, you boys have this 'fool-proof-plan' don't you?" I could practically see the air quotes. Obviously Solomon didn't think highly of their plan.

"Yeah, we do." Zach said confidently.

"Well then, what's the problem, ask them tomorrow before the night is over, if everything goes as you expect it to, then there shouldn't be a problem. They will have forgiven you and there's no harm in asking them what was wrong in the first place." Solomon suggested.

"The one problem with that, is bringing it up might make them mad all over again." Preston put in.

"Not if we do this right." Grant said persuasively.

"Well, we'll only get one shot at this, it absolutely has to be perfect." Jonas added.

"This summer is going to suck so bad at their mad at us the whole time. I just barely got Cammie back, I can't lose her again. This will work and it will be perfect. This is our summer guys." Zach made a mini speech, and the girls cooed when he mentioned me.

"Yeah Zach!" Grant yelled before whistling while Jonas and Preston cheered. The boys continued to chat in the background, whooping and cheering while steps came just a bit too close to the bug.

"Have a nice day ladies." Solomon whispered in the unit before crushing it.

"Curse you, Solomon!" I whisper/yelled while glaring at the laptop.

"That was certainly informative." Macey said sarcastically.

"I can honestly say I wasn't expecting that." Bex said.

"Expecting what?" I asked confused.

"You know, like half of what they said. I expected it to be more of the stuff we've been getting the past couple days. Mostly talk about school, their plans for the summer, teasing, maybe a couple mentions of us. I didn't think they were going to take us being mad so seriously."

"Well, they didn't expect us to get so mad about Lizzie either. I guess we've all been underestimating each other." Macey said.

"Still, I'm surprised the care so much. I kind of assumed their big plan was to like, bake us cookies or something like that. They really do want us to forgive them." Liz said softly.

"Let's not jump to conclusions," I added cautiously "The plan may be for us to make cookies with them, or for us to build sand castles together. We don't know what's coming so we have to be prepared for anything."

"Can we at least all agree that we're going to forgive them?" Bex added.

"Yeah, can we?" Liz added hopefully.

"Yeah Mace, I'm done being mad at Zach. It's no fun."

We all looked at Macey, asking for her opinion, begging her to say yes.

She thought about it for a minute, biting her lip, probably weighing pros and cons out in her mind. "Alright." She said finally. "We'll forgive the guys."

We cheered before thanking her profusely.

"So mom, where exactly are we going?"

"Shopping." She replied vaguely.

"Well, yes thank you for that captain obvious, but what are we looking for?" Macey asked sweetly in a half sarcastic voice.

I could see my mom smile in the rear view mirror as she looked at me. "You'll see."

The girls and I groaned, and begged for her to tell us but she stood firm. As the drive went on, it was clear we were going to be in the car for a while so we started playing the alphabet game again. We quickly made our way through the alphabet and were about halfway through with our second time around when we finally pulled into the parking lot of some mall.

We burst out of the car like we had been in there for days. "Finally!" I exclaimed as I stretched my arms and legs.

"Cam, stretch your back with me." Macey said as she leaned back towards the ground. I went to stand by her as we fell into back bends before flipping over.

We sighed in content. "That felt good." I said as we looked up to see my mom, Bex, and Liz staring at us.

"What?" Macey asked innocently.

"Are you girls ready?" My mom countered.

"Yeah, lets go." I exclaimed hopping once before settling in beside Bex.

"Let's go." She set off quickly towards the mall and we hurried behind her. "Now, this is going to get tricky because you are all doing different kinds of things that require different kinds of clothing." The girls and I perked up, this was definitely something file away. I wondered if she was going to drop hints the whole time.

"Whose stuff are we looking for first?" Macey asked.

"We'll start with Liz. Then Bex then Cam and then Macey last." She answered after thinking for a moment.

We stopped walking for a moment and looked at what stores were around us before turning into one on our right. Instantly we were surrounded by racks of more casual clothing. It seemed like Lizzie's night out wasn't going to be too fancy.

We each picked out an outfit for Liz to try on before sending her to the dressing rooms before looking for more. There were skirts and shorts and leggings and pants and blouses and t-shirts and sweaters (I swear I have never felt so sorry for Liz in my entire life) before finally we all agreed on a pair of light jean shorts a pink slouchy shirt and a gray sweater to go over it.

One down, three to go.

Next, we were lead to a dressier store.

"Okay, we should be able to get Bex's and Cam's outfit here." My mom said surveying the store.

I tried to hold back a groan. I was excited to see where Zach was taking me but fancy dress meant fancy make-up which meant lots and lots of time in front of a mirror.

"Let's split up so we can cover more ground, Macey and Liz you two go look for something for Cam. Something shorter so she has lots of room to move and nothing too fancy." I sighed in relief, and then she winked and I groaned again. "Bex you and Cammie are coming with me, we're going to find something fabulous for Bex to wear."  
"Aye aye captain." I said with a sarcastic salute. My mom grinned a little before turning to Macey.

"Meet us back at this spot in exactly an hour with all your choices, we'll meet up here later to try things on." Macey nodded and then we were off.

The next hour managed to simultaneously be a blur and drag on forever. I vaguely remember handing a few dresses that would suit Bex to my mother but other than that I mostly gave opinions on other dresses they showed me. Exactly an hour later we returned to meet Macey and Liz. They both held dozens of dresses and I tried very hard not to groan.

"Alright," I said grabbing some dresses and looking at Bex "Let's do this." Bex and I nodded at each other as we made way for the dressing rooms.

The next hour and a half (Yeah, it really took that long. I wish I was joking.) was spent trying on dresses, then trying on different dresses, then re-trying on the same dresses as before. Bex managed to somehow look incredible in every single thing she tried on while I tried very hard to look good in at least one of the dresses.

After about an hour Bex had her dress, it was a gorgeous red sequined dress embroidered with lace and she looked stunning in it.

Finally, finally, finally, we decided on a light pink ruffled dress with a small jewel detail on the waist and a built in bra. It was heavy and uncomfortable and it had a corseted back but I was eager to leave so I agreed to it. After paying for our ridiculously priced dresses, we headed for the food court for a small snack before we went to find something for Macey to wear.

As s we waited impatiently for the line to moe I suggested some of us go to find seats with the bags so we didn't have to keep holding them.

"Great idea Cam. Liz why don't you and Macey head over to find us a table while Bex, Cam, and I finish ordering our food. We'll meet you over there in a few minutes." My mom suggested.

"Okay, sounds good. Make sure my drink is diet." Macey said as she pulled Liz towards the empty tables.

"So after Macey's outfit are we done?" I asked anxiously.

"No." My mom answered.

"What?" Bex asked surprised. "What else could we possibly have to buy?"

"Shoes, make-up, underclothes, hair product, accessories, perfumes, and phones would probably be a good idea too. We'll get some for the boys though." She answered as if it were an obvious answer.

Bex and I shared a look. This was going to be a long few hours. Suddenly, I had an idea.

"Wait, since we're shopping today does this mean we don't have to go shopping next week?" I asked excitedly.

"Oh no, we're still going shopping next week." Bex answered quickly as my mom turned to pay.

"Why are you so eager to go shopping all of the sudden?"

"Have you seen my wardrobe? It's time for a new look."

"Yeah, I kinda need one too." I agreed grudgingly.

"Do my ears deceive me? Did you just agree to go shopping for a whole new wardrobe?" My mom asked suddenly interested in the conversation.

"Not an entirely new wardrobe." I tried to protest.

"Now now, you said a new look, that entails a new wardrobe. And new accessories!"

"Not to mention new perfumes, make-up, jackets, shoes, hair-styles, nail styles, practically a whole new Cammie." Bex added in.

"Bex! You are not helping!" I exclaimed

"I am helping, just not you." She said cheekily with a small wink to show she was joking. "Come on Cam, this will be fun!"

I sighed but reluctantly agreed. "Fine, but I reserve the right to veto whatever I find necessary."

"Deal." Bex said reaching over and shaking my hand.

"Girls come help me carry this." My said calling to me and Bex. We had three trays covered in chinese food and drinks it smelled amazing.

We quickly found Liz and Macey and set down the trays before jumping on them like ravenous lions. Within moments the food had disappeared.

I leaned back in my chair and let out a satisfied sigh.

"Don't get comfortable on me now, we still have a lot of work to do." My mom said gathering the garbage.

"I know I'm not, I'm just momentarily relaxing." I answered slowly.

"Well moments over. We've got a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it." Reluctantly we all climbed to our feet.  
"Macey's shouldn't take too long, I already have the perfect outfit in mind then we can do everything else."

"Everything else?" Liz asked wearily.

"Shoes, make-up, underclothes, hair product, accessories, perfumes, and phones for us and the boys." Bex and I repeated verbatim.

"That's right, now let's get moving."

We set off. My mom led us quickly to a store only a few yards from the food court. She browsed the store only for a moment before leading us to the back of the store. She handed macey a rose print dress and a red ¾ length sleeve blazer with studs on the sleeves and told her to go and try it on. Macey grabbed it and without a moment to spare set out for the dressing rooms and we followed behind her. An impossibly short amount of time later she appeared once more.

"It's perfect." She said and we all looked at her, baffled. Well, except for my mom she just said.  
"I had a feeling it might be."She had a sly look on her face.

"I even have shoes that go perfectly with this."

"I know I thought of this when I saw them earlier."

"You're a miracle worker." I saw in awe. "I thought we were gonna be here for hours."

"I think we all did." Bex added quietly.

"This is just statistically improbable." Liz whispered.

"Doing the impossible is fun girls, always remember this. Now come on, we've got places to go." And once more, we were off.

First thing first; shoes. We went to the nearest shoe store and went straight for the heels. Lizzie got some light pink high tops the exact shade of pink as her shirt and they had small heels on the bottom with spikes on the sides. Bex got some dangerously high heels that were a dark black. I got some incredibly hard to walk in high heeled shoes. They made me walk around the store in them so I could get used to walking in heels. Macey got some adorable red heels with a bow on them. We double checked the fit and then we were out of there.

"Alright girls, switch shoes." My mom said handing each of us the box with our shoes.

"What?" Squeaked Liz.

"You have to break them in and get used to wearing them, and now is the time. Come on, hop to it."

We all reluctantly slipped on the heels and then set off to buy new makeup.

We walked into a local makeup store and I was shocked at how much there was. I mean, I knew there was a lot of different makeup options but I didn't know there were _this_ many.

"Alright, we already have most of the things we need at home so we're mostly going to buy back ups." Macey decided surveying the store with a hand on her hip.

"Sounds good, lead the way." My mom added and then we were running around the store, trying to keep Macey from trying too many new kinds of makeup. After picking up extras of all the makeup we already had, we paid quickly and then went to find the next thing on our list.

They led us to *gulp* an _underwear store_ (I bet you can guess which one). Luckily for me I had a built in bra in my dress so I bought so boy shorts go on under the dress and called life good. But then I had to wait for everyone else to pick their favorite pair and try them on. Poor Liz was cornered by Macey by the push up bra's and I haven't seen her since. I decided to go and find her and see if she needed an escape.

"Liz?" I called softly into the changing rooms, trying not to attract too much attention.

"Over here." A voice called from my right. Her head popped out of a nearby changing room. "Help. Me." She whispered.

I nodded once and checked for Bex and Macey before giving her the all clear signal. She burst out of her changing room, wobbling on her heels with unwanted underclothing in her hands and we ran to the register. She bought a much more appropriate article and we ran from the store.

"That was close." I said breathing heavily, waiting for a wild Macey to appear and drag us back into the store.

We started walking towards my mom. "Way too close." She added.

"Hey girls, did you get everything you need?" My mom asked from where she sat with our big pile of bags.

"Yes ma'am." We responded in unison.

"Brilliant. Look, I found the cutest little boutique over there, it has the cutest accessories and looks like it has some great perfumes, why don't you go start looking while I wait for Bex and Macey then we can finish up there and go get phones?" She asked us.

"Sounds good." I said and we hiked off towards the aforementioned store.

"This is actually a pretty cute store." Liz remarked as we entered.

"Yeah it is, and look at the wall of accessories." I said in awe. Liz caught her breath in her throat as she saw the wall I was gesturing too.

We looked at each other and grinned before taking off towards the necklaces, earrings, rings and bracelets. We sat there for ages just trying on necklaces and earrings and rings, admiring how they looked on us, and when Macey and Bex got there too they joined us.

"Oooooh, Cam, you should wear these." Macey said pulling some dangly earrings from the rack and handing them to me.

I held them next to my ears and nodded. "I think these will do perfectly. Thanks Mace."

"Sure thing." She replied before going back to looking at rings.

"Hey guys, we should all get matching rings." Bex said as she looked over the rings she had on each of her fingers.

"That's a great idea!" Liz exclaimed as she popped her head out from behind a stand that was covered in necklaces.

"Which one should we get?" I asked them and we all began to look at rings. We looked at fancy ones, plan ones, funny ones (ugly ones according to Macey), ever those weird rubber ones before deciding.

"Hey guys, look at these." Bex called from a little farther down the counter. She showed us tiny crystal rings with dark bands. They weren't too flashy and they weren't too plain. They were perfect.

"There's four left." Liz noted.

"It's fate." I whispered.

Macey nodded and Bex scooped them up. We quickly picked out the rest of our jewelry and went over the perfumes.

"How are you ladies doing today?" A worker asked. Her name tag read Sam.

"We're great, how are you?" I responded perfectly polite and Bex elbowed me in the gut.

"Cover" She mumbled in my ear.

"Can I help you find anything?" I just shrugged and turned back to the counter when Liz spoke up.

"What's your favorite scent?" She asked innocently.

"Well...my favorite would have to be…" She surveyed the shelves. "This one." She said finally pulling a small bottle from the back of one of the shelves.

She sprayed it on a test paper and we took turns smelling it.

"Wow." Macey murmured. "Where did you find this?" She asked louder as she passed it to me. I held it to my nose.

"We make it right here. The only store in the world you can find this exact one at. Most of our products are made right there in the back room."

This perfume smelled indescribably amazing. It smelled like...flowers but not really and it smelled like fruit but not really. I really can't find the words. It was perfect.

"How many bottles of it do you have made?" I asked curiously.

"About a dozen I would say."

"Can we order it and have it shipped to us?" Bex asked after smelling it herself.

"I'm not sure but I think so. Maybe not for much longer, this old shop is going out of business. Most people like those big department stores better now." She said sadly.

"That's awful." Liz said as she stared at the paper as if hoping to extract the scents that were in it.

"Yes, well...Anything else I can do for you girls today?" She asked smiling once more.

"No, I think we're ready to go." I said smiling back at her.

"Well then, I'll ring you up." She crossed to the cash register and we each grabbed one of the bottles of the perfume.

We piled our finds on the counter and waited as she pulled up our total. She gasped when she saw the rings.

"I didn't realize we still had these" she said looking at them with almost a reverence. "They were hand made by the late owner of the store. The only four she made like this. They're one of a kind." She placed each of them gently in a ring box then placed the boxes in a bag.

"It really was fate." Macey mumbled under her breath.

She finished wrapping up the items and handed them to us after we had paid. We waved to her joyfully, thanking her as we left the store.

"I really liked that store." I said happily as we crossed towards the electronic store where my mom was waiting for us.

"I did too. What a find." Bex said with a grin.

"I love boutiques. It's official. I'm never shopping anywhere else." Macey said decided.

Liz snorted. "Suuuure Mace." I giggled. This was definitely not the first time Macey had sworn herself to one kind of shopping.

"What?" She asked confused as Bex started to guffaw. "I'm serious this time!" She complained.

Liz and I stopped trying to hold it in, we burst into laughter. Macey looked at us sulkily before allowing a small smile to cross her face.

"Alright, alright, maybe I'm not so serious but lets hurry up and get this done so we can take these dumb heels off. I hate breaking in new shoes." She grumbled and we all hurried our steps so we could get the heck out of the mall.

"There you girls are, I was about to give up hope that you would ever leave that store." My mom said as we entered the store. "We're just about done here too, go pick a phone case from the cart outside. The boys need one too, if you want to pick theirs out."

"Oh absolutely." Macey said crossing to the door.

She told us the name of the phones she was getting us and we went to examine the cases while my mom finished picking a plan and setting up the phones. I had no doubt as soon as she got home, the service would be switched to the CIA main satellite service and the phones would definitely be tricked out, even if we had to do it ourselves.

"Hey Cam, what do you think of this case for Grant?" Bex asked holding up a pink chevron case.

"Nah, too mainstream. He'd like it too much." I answered.

"Agreed." Bex said surveying it again.

I was hit with a stroke of genius. "Hey, what if we get Zach and Grant one of those couples cases? You know so they're all matching and adorable." I asked her.

"Great idea! Let's get looking." She agreed and we began to search. We had barely covered one side of the cart before Liz called to us.

"Hey guys! The do custom cases!" She said excitedly. "Let's get cute matching cases!"

"That'd be cool." Macey said.

"I feel like such a stereotypical white girl." I said, a little weirded out.

"Same, isn't it weird?" Bex asked. I couldn't agree more.

"What kind of cases are we getting?" I asked Macey.

"I'm not sure yet, I'm still thinking it over. Let's go talk to the guy again." She spun on her heel and led us to where the man running the cart stood.

"So how customizable are these cases?" Macey asked, a hand on her hip.

"Pretty customizable. We can use pictures, quotes, anything you may want. We scan it into the computer, edit it until it fits your phone, print it out, and stick it to the case." He said showing us the clear cases. "Nothing too hard."

"Can you sell us the kits?" Bex asked.

"Sure can, it's a few dollars more though, and it can be tricky to get right."

"I think we can manage. Can we get four of these kits?" I asked.

"Sure thing. Anything else I can do for you guys today?"

"Actually." I said pulling Bex to my side. "We would like to make a couple case set. Can we do that?"

He laughed a little. "Totally, what do you want on it?" I looked at Bex evilly.

"Do you have a favorite? Maybe something that you've seen people do that you really liked, or one you made for you and your girlfriend?" I asked with an innocent smile. Bex coughed behind me, trying to cover up a laugh.

"Actually, yeah. I just saw the cutest case set the other day." He winced. "That sounded so girly, I apologize that you had to hear that."

Bex and I laughed as he pulled up a document. It was a picture of two elephants, one pick one blue, and their trunks crossed over onto the other case to make a heart in the middle.

"Oh that's perfect." I said smiling.

"Do you want names on it?" He asked.

"Bex? What do you think?" I asked my giggling friend.

"Oh I think nicknames would be perfect." She said pushing back her laughter.

"What are the names?" He asked, fingers poised above the keys.

She thought about it only for a minute. "Gumdrop and..." I burst into laughter "Pookie Bear." I couldn't help it, I laughed even harder and it took only seconds for Bex to join in.

"Well, alright then." The cashier, Jonathan, said chuckling along with us.

"I'm, I'm sorry." I said holding my side, trying to stop laughing. "These are for our boyfriends, we're getting them matching phone cases and, this is so much better than anything I could have imagined." I managed to get out, dissolving into giggles at the end of my sentence.

"Ah, I understand now. You guys are hilarious." He said with a sincere smile on his face. "I get the feeling that is some sort of payback…?" He asked

"Oh yeah." Bex said breathing heavily.

"Aw, I kinda feel bad for the poor guys." He said smiling as he began to put the pictures on the cases.

"Wait, who's Gumdrop and who's Pookie Bear?" I asked Bex.

"Grant is Gumdrop, because the both start with G and we both know that's the only way he's going to remember it's his." She clarified.

"Ah, yes that makes sense."

"Alrighty," Jonathan said "Here you guys go." He said putting the completed cases in a box, the putting it into a bag with the kits "Anything else?"

"I think they should have cases as well." I said pointing to the approaching Macey and Liz.

"Indeed we do." Macey said handing over 2 cases. One a bright pink and the other with a disney princess on the back. "And that should be it." Macey handed over his credit card for him to swipe.

"Awesome, you ladies have a nice day." He said handing me the bag and Macey her credit card.

"You too." I replied sincerely.

"Look Cam, there's your mom." Liz said. She stood over by a fountain a few yards away.

"Finally! Let's go home!" Bex exclaimed.

"So what cases did you guys get for Grant and Zach?" Macey asked as we crossed towards my mother.

"Oh, we personalized some." Bex said simply.

"Can we see?" Liz asked.

Bex looked at me and I nodded.

"We'll show you in the car." Bex said "I can't bloody stand anymore."

"Alright girls, you ready to go?" She asked chipperly.

"Yes!" We all cried in unison.

She laughed slightly and we were off. We practically ran to the car.

"I'm starving!" Bex cried as soon as we reached the car.

"I am too." I agreed.

"Same." Macey said plainly.

"Me too." Liz agreed as she let out a sigh from beside my mom.

"Let's run through the drive thru and get some burgers." My said as she pulled towards a fast food restaurant.

"I'm honestly too hungry to argue." Macey said as we all looked at her.

We ordered five double cheeseburgers and enough fries to give us all a heart attack.

"Hey Cam, show us the cases." Liz said as my mom pulled up to pay.

"Okay." I giggled as Bex and I pulled the cases out from the boxes and held them side by side for Macey and Liz to see.

They burst into laughter. "Oh my word that is hilarious!" Macey cried as she reached out to pull them closer to her face. "You two are officially my heroes."

"Who's Gumdrop and who's Pookie Bear?" Liz asked

"Guess!" I exclaimed

"Grant is obviously Gumdrop." Liz said after only a moments hesitation.

"Seriously though." Macey agreed handing us the cases back.

"What are we going to put on our cases?" I asked.

"I'll get online and see if I can find something cute." Liz said reaching for her laptop.

"Awesome."

"Here you are girls." My mom said passing back our burgers and fries.

"YUM!" I said and dug right into my burger.

Bex scoffed. "Americans." But she attacked her burger with as much fervor as I did.

As we began the drive home, we decided to set up our phones. We immediately put each others contact information on our phones. We even put in cutesy nicknames. Well, sort of cutesy, we got them from the Little Miss books. Bex was "Little Miss Chatterbox" Macey was "Little Miss Princess" Liz was "Little Miss Giggles" and despite my protests, I was "Little Miss Trouble". My friends think they are hilarious.

We put our contacts in the boys phones too, but we just left our names as the were, they could put in nicknames if they wanted too but we were worried they would confuse Grant just a little bit. The best part was putting their names in our phones. Since ours were all from the Little Miss books, we did theirs based on the Mr Men ones. Jonas was "Mr. Bump" Preston was "Mr. Messy" (Macey said it was accurate, and who were we to disagree) Grant was "Mr. Loud" and Zach...well we disagreed on Zach. Macey and Bex wanted him to be "Mr. Uppity" but Liz and I thought it was mean and the one that made the most sense (Mr. Impossible) Bex and Macey thought was too nice, and even though Liz and I agreed, nothing else really worked so after like 20 minutes (and a lot of inappropriate jokes from Bex) we just went with "Mr. Small" (which lead to even more inappropriate jokes from Bex.) It would take some explaining when he found out who he was.

So the drive continued, we discussed different case ideas, what we thought the guys were doing, how long the drive was, what we planned on doing on the next few days, what the boys surprise was, and took plenty of pictures. After waaaaayyyyyy too long in the car, we finally pulled back up to the house. My mom turned off the car and turned to look at us.

"The boys are still in there. You girls ready?" She asked.

We looked at each other and nodded.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Just in case you were curious, the start of this chapter marks the 100th page on the document I write the words on...wait..words what? I have now written 100 pages, there that's what I was going to say. Carry on. **

Chapter 17

The sky had darkened so we could see the lights on in the kitchen. We each took a deep breath before opening the car doors.

"Wait!" I called suddenly, stopping the girls in their tracks. "How are we doing this? Are we going to continue to ignore them or are we forgiving them now? And Mace, what are you going to do about Preston?"

"We're going to go in and act like nothing has changed. We are going to walk right past them with barely a glance, me included." Macey instructed as she led us to the back of the car to get our bags.

"Okay, and if they approach us?" Liz asked.

"We make eye contact, then walk away." Bex suggested.

"Cough if you need assistance." I added.

"You girls really are thinking this through too much." My mom commented.

"We're overly hormonal teenagers, we have an excuse." I defended as I pulled the bags out of the trunk.

"Well alright, you can do this your way." She said mysteriously.

"Wait!" I called before she could walk away. "What would you do in our situation?" I asked curiously. I had a feeling she had a better idea.

"First, I would let them know why you're so mad. It will help them apologize and you will all be able to get over this much faster and it will make tomorrow more fun."

"Okay, sounds doable, next step?" Macey agreed, urging her on.

"Next step would be to accept their apology, let them know that you've forgiven them." She continued. "Like the boys mentioned, this summer won't be any fun if you're mad at each other the whole time."

We looked at each other, coming to the same conclusion.

"Yeah, I guess that's the best idea." Bex sighed.

"Good, now go on in. No need to plan this out, just be yourselves."

"That is so much harder than it sounds." I complained as I scooped up my things and followed Liz to the house.

We made it to the house first and just stood at the front door, waiting, gathering courage.

"They aren't a pack of wild bears." Macey commented as she walked up the steps.

"I almost wish they were." Liz squeaked.

"Same." I looked over at Liz and squeezed her hand once before reaching over, and opening the door.

It was pretty quiet in the house. I went in first, taking it step by step. With someone right behind me, probably Bex.

"Why am I so nervous?" I asked quietly.

"You know why." Bex said suddenly, right next to my ear. I jumped and the girls laughed a little.

"Geez Bex." I whispered.

She giggled a little "Sorry Cam, thought you heard me coming."

"I did, I just didn't think you were so close to me." I shook it off and continued walking towards the living room only to hear an "oomph" come from behind me.

I spun around and saw Bex walking away from the table, as I saw the shocked look on Macey's face, and the hysterical one on Liz's, I burst out laughing.

"You. Just. Ran. Into. The table!" I managed to get out in between my laughs. I couldn't hear Macey and Liz laughing, but I knew they were and that only made me laugh harder.

"It is not funny!" Bex exclaimed and we laughed harder.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw my mom, Solomon, Preston, Zach, Jonas, and Grant come in, but I couldn't stop laughing long enough to answer their questions. Liz and Macey had fallen to the ground they were laughing so hard, and I was about to follow their example. Even Bex had started laughing, and everyone else just looked confused.

After a good 3 minutes of straight laughing, we finally managed to stop long enough to catch our breaths.

"Ow." Liz complained. "My stomach is killing me." She giggled again.

"Mine too." I sighed, fighting the urge to look at Bex.

"Now will you finally tell us what happened that was so funny?" Grant asked.

I giggled again. "Bex," Macey cut herself off with a cough, trying to keep from laughing "ran into the table."

We burst into giggles again and this time the boys chuckled along with us.

My mom just rolled her eyes. "You girls are so silly." She said as she walked to the fridge and pulled out a water bottle.

"We know." We said as we climbed to our feet and gathered our things.

Jonas coughed awkwardly and Grant looked uncomfortable when Preston said "So how was your shopping trip?"

I exchanged a look with Liz and we both looked at Macey, waiting for her to respond.

"It was good." She said after only a moment's hesitation.

"What did you buy?" Zach asked quietly, probably expecting us to explode.

"Oh you know...stuff." I answered vaguely.

"Actually, we got you guys something." Bex said reaching into one of her bags.

"Oh yeah" I mumbled reaching for Zach's phone.

"Indeed we did." Liz said quietly.

"You'll love it." Macey said with a smirk.

We had put the phones in the cases in the car, but then we put it back in the boxes so it would be a surprise.

Bex found hers first and walked over towards where I stood to put it on the table.

"Grant." She said with a smile.

"Zach." I grinned and placed his phone next to Grants.

"Jonas." Liz shook it a little as she put it next to Zach's

"Preston." Macey said holding it out to him, a far too innocent smile on her face.

"Thanks." He said with a grin. "Can we help you guys carry your stuff to your rooms?" He asked kindly.

"No thanks, I think we got it." Macey replied as we headed for the stairs.

"Okay, well thanks for the phones." Jonas said awkwardly.

"Are your numbers in here?" Zach asked as he crossed to the table and picked up his phone.

"Why don't you find out?" I said with a smile.

We walked up the steps in unison and walked into Macey and Bex's room as fast as we could without running. As soon as the door shut I let out a sigh of relief.

"Well that went better than expected." I remarked as Liz and I walked to our room to put our stuff down.

"It definitely could have been worse." Liz agreed.

"Yeah but now we have a problem." Bex said.

"We do?" I asked surprised.

"Yeah, you're mom wanted us to tell the boys why we were mad remember?" Macey commented as Liz and I crossed back into their room.

I groaned. "Oh yeah."

"Well, we will tell them, tonight too, but first I have the best idea for our cases." Liz said picking up Macey's camera. "Do we have a printer in this house?" She asked.

"I think my mom might have one." I commented.

"Your mom travels with a printer?" Bex asked confused.

"My mom travels with everything." I replied. "What's your idea Liz?"

"Well, I saw this thing on this website." Bex cut her off.

"Wow that's so descriptive Liz, thank you." She said sarcastically.

"I wasn't finished." Liz said exasperated as I went to go sit with Bex and Macey on the bed. "Anyway, it had this really cute picture of four friends with linked pinky's and I was thinking, what if we did that then put "Best Friends For Eternity" above it?" She asked, a sparkle in her eye.

"Cute idea. But it sounds like it would be a little squished for a phone case. Well, I guess if we did it horizontally." Macey commented.

"I had the same thought, but then I figured, well what if we put one person and one word on each case so when we put them next to each other it would all go together, kinda like Grant and Zach's cases." She said excitedly.

"That would actually be super cute." Bex agreed. "How do we take the picture?"

"We can set it up in the bathroom." I suggested.

"Perfect."

And so we set right to it. We put up the camera in the bathroom with a timer on the counter then stood next to each other, Liz, Me, Macey, then Bex, and linked pinky's. We got it on the first try funnily enough but decided to go back and do it again with our matching rings on (Macey's idea). After uploading it to Liz's laptop, and editing it so our pinky's were the focal point and we were kind of blurred in the background (Bex's idea) we put "Best Friends For Eternity" above our pinky's in a super cute kind of italic font then made three copies so there were four of them total, we edited them around each person's pinky and word. Liz's case would say "Best" mine would say "Friends" Macey's would say "For" and Bex's would say "Eternity".

"This is like the cutest thing ever, but I have to say, this is so cheesy." I remarked with a huge grin as we finished editing the pictures.

Macey laughed a little "I agree, but I've kind of always wanted to do this." She admitted.

"Same." Bex said and she blushed a little.

"Question, do we want to have our own pinky's on our case, or someone elses." Liz asked before clicking print.

"I think we should have someone else's. Could be cute." I offered.

"Alright, who gets whose?" Macey asked.

"I want Liz's! People will see it and wonder why I look so white in pictures." Bex said with a laugh.

Macey laughed too. "Okay, then Bex has Liz's, Liz who do you want?"

"I want Bex's. People will wonder why I look so dark." Liz teased back.

"Okay then it looks like Cammie and I have each other. Let's do this."

"Hold on, I gotta switch the words so they fit the right case." Liz quickly changed the lettering so they fit the corresponding case and then we went in search of a printer.

Liz gripped her laptop tightly and we tumbled down the stairs, slightly stomping our feet to give warning that we were coming.

"MOM?" I called as we ran down the stairs.

"Yeah?" She called back.

"Do you have a printer we can use?" Liz asked as she tripped over the last steps and tumbled to the ground, the rest of us tripping over her.

"Are you girls okay?" She asked.

Macey, Bex, and I were all laying on the floor by the foot of the stairs giggling. "Do you have a printer?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Then yes." She went back to her room to find the printer.

Suddenly four worried heads popped out from the top of the stairs.

"You guys okay?" Grant called down.

We started laughing again. "Fine, fine. Just had a little accident, didn't we Lizzie?" Bex answered.

"It's not my fault!" Liz protested as Macey and I laughed harder.

"You guys scared the crap out of us with all that stomping and falling." Preston said running a hand through his hair.

"Sorry, didn't mean too." Macey got out in between giggles.

They turned to go, but Preston turned back. "Oh, and really Macey? Snow White? She's my least favorite princess!" He exclaimed.

Macey leaned over and whispered in my ear. "I had no idea."

"Dude, really?" Zach asked laughing.

"She's creepy dude, really dang creepy."

"Love my case by the way, Cam's. Really cute." Zach said with a wink and a smile.

"Glad you liked it." I said smiling up at him.

"Do we get to design yours now? You know, since you picked ours out." Jonas asked mischievously.

"No way!" Liz exclaimed as my mom came walking down the hall. "Besides you're too late." She quickly ran to grab the printer from her and had it connected to her laptop in seconds. She placed the special paper in the printer and seconds later, the deed was done. Our cases were ready to be assembled.

"Come on, let's go put them together. Thanks mom!" I called as the girls and I stomped back up the stairs.

"You're welcome!" She said with a smile and a wave.

"Hey do we get to see your cases?" Grant asked as we blew past them into Macey and Bex's room.

"In a minute, let us put them together first." I commented.

"You guys can come in with us if you want." Macey added. I shot around to give her a look, but I didn't dare argue. I knew what she was thinking, and she was right.

"Sweet." Zach said and the followed us into the room. Bex stood by the door so she could close it when they were in.

"Enter the dragon…" Grant whispered as he entered the room. Bex slapped him on the head. "Ow!" He exclaimed rubbing his head. "I think you gave me brain damage."

Bex snorted. "Honey, I think you-" I cut her off before she could finish the insult.

"Now Bexie, let's try to be nice." I said in a sickly sweet voice and she turned her anger on me.

I squealed as she came at me, and she jumped on my back. I turned around in circles trying to buck her off. One giggle in her ear told me that this was going to be fun. She wrapped a hand around my hair and held it up as if she was pulling it.

"Take it back Morgan!" She commanded in a stern voice.

"Never!" I replied dropping to the floor, narrowly avoiding hitting Bex's head against the dresser.

We rolled around on the floor for a few seconds, each of us taking a turn to glance at the boys shocked faces and Macey and Liz's annoyed ones.

"Alright you two, as entertaining as this is…" Liz said walking towards us. She toed us apart and Bex and I burst into laughter. "We've got things to do."

"So you guys weren't really fighting?" Jonas asked confused.

"No, they almost never have real fights. Almost all of them are fake." Macey said stepping over us to sit on the bed next to Liz.

"How can you tell the difference?" Preston asked as he crossed to sit next to Macey.

Macey shrugged. "I just know them really well I guess."

Liz handed out a blank case and each person's picture as Jonas came and stood by her shoulder. "Here you go guys. It'll work best if you do it slowly, only a little bit at a time and don't peel the back of the sticker off all at once. Do it as you put it on." She instructed.

Our giggles died down as Bex and I reached for our cases. I laid down on my stomach, sticker in front of me as I prepared to put it on. Bex put herself in the same position as me and Grant laid down across from her.

Zach tried his luck and came to lay next to me. "Hey Gallagher Girl." He said.

All four of the Gallagher Girls in that room shushed him.

"Right…" He said quieter. "You want some help?" He asked, offering.

"Nope." I said as I concentrated. I moved forward to look at it closer and began putting the picture on.

Zach moved up beside me. "So Gallagher Girl-" Bex cut him off in the middle of his sentence.

"Not now Zach." She said as she pulled her hair out of her face and she and Grant leaned very close to the case.

"I was talking to Cammie." He explained.

"Could've fooled me." Macey said.

"Last I checked I was a Gallagher Girl too." Bex commented.

"As was I." Liz added.

"Me too." Macey said.

"You aren't wrong, but you aren't the Gallagher Girl I was talking to." He tried to explain.

"Wouldn't it be nice if there was some way to specify which person you were talking to?" I asked sarcastically.

"You know, like a name, or something like that." Macey added as she finished applying her sticker.

"Alright, alright, you've made your point, let's not torture the poor man." Grant said absentmindedly.

"Done!" I announced proudly as I held up my case, it was devoid of any bubbles or tears.

"Same!" Macey said triumphantly.

"Got it!" Liz added just a second later.

"I'm...working on it." Bex added in a zoned out tone. She was really focused.

"Hand me my phone?" I asked Macey.

"Sure." She went to grab it from the night stand.

"Not yet, I'm still updating the software." Liz stopped her. Liz looked over at Jonas. "Wanna help me?" She asked quietly.

"Sure." He whispered then ran to go get his laptop. Seconds later, they were hunched over their computers, talking quietly with each other.

"Ah nerd love." Bex commented as she sat up, her completed case in hand.

"Isn't it beautiful?" I added.

"I can hear you guys!" Liz called from the other side of the room.

"You were meant to!" Bex called back in the same tone.

I could practically hear her roll her eyes. I rolled over on my stomach and sighed.

"So, Cammie." Zach began again, this time making sure to specify.

"So Zach." I replied, staring up at the ceiling.

"Are you still mad at me?" He asked.

"Yep."

"Not that I'm complaining or anything, but why did you let us in here if you're still mad?" He asked.

"Yeah?" Grant agreed.

"Yeah, its a little…" Preston began, but with a look from Macey, he stopped talking.

"Well, we let you in here because we wanted to tell you why we were mad." Macey said and all the boys perked up, even Jonas.

"Or rather, we wanted to show you." Bex said "Jonas, you still got that footage?" She asked. Jonas paled then nodded. "Good, pull it up then come over here."

Jonas did as asked then backed away. The girls and I watched the footage once, and saw that you could indeed see Liz in the frame.

"Okay, watch our line of sight." I instructed and the girls and I stepped away from the camera.

As soon as the boys crowded around the computer, Macey grabbed makeup wipes from the counter and quickly wiped off the makeup that covered her bruises.

"Macey." Liz whispered. "Are you sure?" A question in her eyes.

"Absolutely." She replied just as quietly. "They need to know."

Liz looked over at Bex and Me and we each took one of her hands and we turned to face the boys. I took Macey's hand in my free one and we watched them.

We heard the liquid splash over us and watched their reactions as they all finally noticed what made us so mad.

"I still don't get it." Grant whispered to Zach and Zach pointed to the screen. He showed him what was wrong and almost in unison they turned to look at us.

Liz had started tearing up at the thought of what had happened and Bex and I did our best to comfort her.

"Don't mess with our sisters." Bex said threateningly.

"Liz...I..." Jonas said painfully. He looked almost as sad as she did.

"Liz, I am so sorry." Preston said sincerely.

"Yeah, really Liz...I...we just didn't really think about it you know?" Grant added flustered.

"But we should have, and it's no excuse. Please accept our apology. That was...really awful of us to be so insensitive. We're really sorry." Zach added in a heartfelt tone.

Liz laughed a little and let go of my hand to wipe her eyes. "It's okay, you're completely impulsive teenage boys, I understand."

"Just don't do it again." I added without a trace of mercy in my voice.

"Never! Never!" They chorused.

"Then...I guess we can forgive you." Bex said teasingly.

"Good!" Grant said jumping up and pressed his lips to Bex's. She took a startled step back but didn't hesitate to return the favor.

"Well Gallagher Girl." Zach said taking my hand.

"Yes?" Macey said popping into the conversation, and I laughed.

"That will never be not funny." I commented, still giggling.

He just rolled his eyes before settling his gaze on me. Much slower than Grant, he pressed his lips to mine and I began to question why I was mad at him in the first place. Then his lips were gone and I was very aware of where we were.

"Lets go downstairs." I suggested.

Bex broke away for air and a comment. "Yeah, I'm hungry." Then she pushed her lips to Grant's once more.

"Bex, you're going to have to detach yourself from him sometime." Macey said grabbing Preston's hand and walking through the door.

Liz grabbed Jonas' hand and pulled him through as well. I exchanged a look with Zach and we surged forward.

"Come on lover boy." Zach said as we pulled the two apart. As we walked down the stairs, I kept a firm grip on a grinning Bex, while Zach kept a love-struck Grant from bumping into walls and falling down stairs.

"Do we have anything good to eat?" Bex asked as we began to get closer to the kitchen.

"I think so...we have lots of frozen stuff we can eat. Or we can always grab some stuff from the cupboard and eat that." I replied.

"Can we have eating contests?" She asked excitedly.

"I don't think so, you don't handle losing very well." I teased.

"What! No way you would beat me in an eating contest Morgan!"

"You're on Baxter!" I dropped Bex's arm and we raced the rest of the way to the kitchen.

"Whoa there!" Zach yelled from behind us as they tried to catch up.

"This is probably a bad idea!" Grant added.

"This is a great idea!" I said as I pulled open the fridge and Bex opened the cupboard.

"I bet I can fit more oreos in my mouth than you!" Bex yelled.

"You're on!" I accepted her challenge. "I bet I can fit more grapes in my mouth!"

"Don't make me laugh!" She retorted. I grabbed the grapes and ran for the table.

"Ooo! Let's play Chubby Bunny too!" Macey added as she joined us at the table, marshmallows in hand.

"And the toaster game!" Liz added grabbing bread. "Jonas, grab the toaster would you? We'll probably need an extension cord too."

"I'm not a part of this," Jonas said holding up his hands in surrender. "I'm not going to help you four choke to death."

"We won't choke." I said reassuringly. "We do this all the time. Besides, it's not like we don't know the heimlich maneuver." I added quickly.

"That's it, I can't believe you've made me do this Cammie, I never wanted to be this person, but I'm getting your mom." Zach said walking down the hall.

"Oh good idea, she'll want to play too!" I called after him victoriously.

Seconds later my mom appeared followed by Solomon.

"What's this I hear about your four playing dangerous games?" My mom asked "I thought I told you four to stop with the knife song."

"It's the knife game mom." I said.

"I've heard it both ways." Bex said.

"I thought it was the knife game song?" Macey added.

"It's whatever you want to call it." Liz clarified. "And it's not what we're playing."

"Well what is it?" She asked.

"We're having an eating contest." Bex and I toned the same time Macey said.

"Playing chubby bunny obviously." While holding up the marshmallows then Liz added;

"We're playing the toaster game."

She turned to look at Zach. "How exactly are these so dangerous?"

"They could choke!" He exclaimed.

"They could choke on a regular basis, have you seen the way they eat? I'm not all that worried. If they do choke, however, I give you permission to say 'I told you so' after you've applied your training in the Heimlich Maneuver. If you have any." She instructed. "Have fun girls, try to avoid giving the boys heart attacks." She gave a small wave, turned on her heel and was gone.

"You're mom is so cool Cam." Macey said with a smile.

I smiled back. "I know. Now let's do this!"

We divided the food and discussed rules while the boys put on their man pants and assigned themselves our protectors. With our boys either beside us or behind us, we began.

"Alright first one to finish their pile of food wins the first round, the person to win the most rounds will be the overall winner." Macey clarified.

"Round two will be chubby bunny, and round three will be the toaster game." Bex added.

"Any and all tie breakers will be settled through the knife game-" Liz added.

"Whoa there!" All the boys broke in simultaneously. I wondered if that's what we sounded like when we spoke in unison. I cut in to calm them.

"-Unless Liz is one of the finalists, in which case, it's a sudden death round of chubby bunny." I finished for her.

"This is still a horrible idea." Preston stated.

"I completely agree." Zach said.

"I think this will be fun to watch." Grant said excitedly.

"I really wish I could stay out of this." Jonas moaned.

"Hush boys, no one asked for your opinions. Let the big girls work." Macey said rolling her shoulders.

I popped my neck and Bex popped her knuckles. Liz rubbed her hands together anxiously. "Tonight is my night!" Liz stated.

"In your dreams Sutton." Macey intoned. "This game is mine."

"Ha! You're both dreamers, you know I'm gonna win." Bex taunted.

"Please Baxter, I've tanned your hide more than once." I reminded her, a taunt in my eyes.

"Please, your behind is mine Morgan." She retorted.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night baxter." I responded.

"Alright, enough talk, let's dance." Macey said reaching for both the grapes and the oreos.

We each gave another person (to make sure we didn't cheat) 12 oreos and 32 grapes (Liz had this thing with numbers that ended in 2) and a glass of water.

"Hey Jonas, start a timer for us would you?" Liz asked kindly.

"I really don't want to assist in this." He said.

"Preston, will you set it up for us then?" Macey asked reaching out and stroking his arm gently.

"Yeah, I guess." He said staring at her hand, defeated. He grabbed Jonas' laptop from the counter and found a timer on some random website.

"How did you get in?" Jonas asked.

"It was already unlocked." Preston answered, but I could tell that he just knew the password already.

"Oh." Jonas answered, unconcerned. I made eye contact with Bex and we grinned at each other. I wondered how long it would take us to get the password, but from the look in Macey's eye, I knew we would have it by the end of the night.

"Okay, you girls ready?" Preston asked, finger hovering above the mouse pad.

"Born ready." Bex answered and we all leaned forward in anticipation.

"I can't watch." Jonas said, turning away.

"You have to, we can't let the choke." Zach answered grimly.

"You four are worse than my mother. Literally." I said rolling my eyes.

"Yeah, it's not like you guys haven't done anything stupid and dangerous before." Liz added.

"Focus ladies." Macey said, eyes never leaving the pile of food in front of her. "We can berate them for being hypocrites later. Go Preston."

"On your mark...Get set….Go!"

We began shoveling food in our mouths, not even pausing for breaths, each of us using a different tactic. Bex liked to shoves as much as she could in, chewing all the while. Macey ate by size, trying to get it done quickly. Liz ate one at a time, barely making it small enough before swallowing. I was practically dumping food down my throat, hardly chewing at all.

About halfway through our contest, I decided Zach's fear of us choking wasn't all that unreasonable. Liz coughed several times, each time making Jonas jump, and Bex was almost gagging.

Almost two minutes in, I chugged my water down and held my arms up in victory, Bex followed 20 seconds later. Macey came in third with Liz hot on her heels. We all finished in under three minutes.

"I'm not going to lie, that was impressive." Grant said in awe.

"That was seriously cool." Preston said with wide eyes.

"How can your tiny little bodies hold so much food?" Zach wondered aloud.

"I honestly thought all of you were going to die. Camme looked like she was _trying_ to cut of her air supply." Jonas said, rubbing his eyes.

"No time for this, next round." I said grabbing the bag of mini marshmallows.

I ripped it open, told Preston to start the timer, and started us off with one marshmallow in my mouth. "Chubby Bunny." I said in all seriousness, and then passed the bag to Bex.

She repeated my actions. "Chubby Bunny."

The bag went to Macey, and the game went on.

We played for almost ten minutes before someone failed. It's much easier, and a much longer game when you play with mini marshmallows. Plus, we had lots of practice, this was our favorite game.

We each had about 20 marshmallows in our mouths when Bex fell out of the game.

"Chu'y" She tried to state the phrase. "Chub" She cut herself off again, and we waited anxiously. After furious moments of trying to say chubby bunny, she eventually threw her hands up in defeat, and moved to spit the marshmallows out. The remaining three of us cheered silently. The boys looked sick, especially Jonas

Liz was the next to go, in an opposite fashion to Bex's loss, she couldn't fit anymore marshmallows in her mouth. That's usually how she lost.

It was only Macey and I remaining, We stared each other down from across the table. A mere two minutes after Liz's loss, I surrendered from the game, throwing my hands up in defeat and running to the garbage, Macey hot on my heels.

As soon as our mouths were clear, Macey reveled in her victory "WOOOOOO! Finally! This game is mine, Morgan!" She taunted as we returned to the table and pulled out the bread and some extremely strange toppings for the toaster game.

"Who's going to decide what goes on it?" Liz asked as she got knives to spread things on the toast.

"The male opposite you. Preston will choose for Cam, Zach for Mace, Jonas for me, and Grant for Liz." Bex said. "It'll be fair that way."

"Wait, explain this game to me." Grant said crossing his arms, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Macey began to explain"Here's how you play, you pop a piece of bread into the toaster and while it cooks, you go around in a circle and say one thing about yourself. Sometimes we play with other topics, cause we already know everything about eachother like, like one thing about the person next to you, one secret-"

I cut her off "One story." I said with a smile and the girls laughed.

"That was so fun." Bex said laughing.

"Moving on," Liz interrupted. "you want to say it fast, because the person talking while the toast pops has to eat the toast with whatever toppings you guys decide on it. It's really fun."

"So we get to choose what goes on the toast?" Jonas clarified.

"Yep, anything you want." I replied. "if we can't eat it, then we're out."

"Wait a second, won't you guys just measure how long it takes the toast to pop, then use that knowledge to sabotage each other?" Zach asked.

"We did the first few times, so now we switch the setting every time to keep it random." Bex answered.

"Okay, okay. Well, let's play. Then we can be done with this ridiculous challenge." Zach replied rubbing his hands over his face.

"Alright." I clapped my hands together and Macey put a piece of bread in the toaster, and the challenge began.

"Okay, one thing about...Cammie. Cammie is a Chameleon." Macey said quickly.

"Cammie is kind." Liz said.

"Cammie is talking about herself in the third person." I chimed.

"Cammie is a good fighter." Bex said and we were back to Macey.

"Cammie is cute."

"Cammie is funny."

"Cammie is short"

"Cammie has a great smile."

"Cammie…" The toast popped and I wanted to groan when Preston smiled.

"Put...Chocolate syrup, jam, vegemite, nutella, and garlic salt." Preston rattled off, surveying the ingredients on the table top.

Just thinking about it made me want to puke, but there was no way I wasn't going down without a fight. I covered the toast in the listed items, then after making eye contact with my best friends in the world (all of whom were giving me sympathetic looks, we'd tried worse) I took a bite of the horrible concoction. I managed to get one bite down, then a second, but on my third bite, I threw the toast down and held my hands up in defeat. If Macey won this game I would lose, but at that moment I didn't care.

"Finally." Zach murmured.

I took a deep breath carefully showing no weakness. "Good game Preston, I really thought I was going to get it down." I said pulling my feet up under me.

" You aren't going to puke are you?" Grant asked a grossed out look on his face.

Bex let out a sharp laugh. "I don't think Cammie is able to puke. She hasn't ever thrown up before, not even when she had the stomach flu."

"I still don't think that's possible, it had to have been something else." Liz added.

"You've _never_ thrown up? _Ever_?" Jonas asked puzzled.

I shook my head. "Not even as a child. My parents thought there was something wrong with me, so the took me to the doctors office and my pediatrician sent us to a specialist who told us that there was nothing wrong, I just really didn't want to."

"That's epic." Preston said in awe.

"Yeah it is!" I agreed. I put more bread in the toaster and twisted the dial before pressing it down and saying "Go!"

I crossed the garbage with my nasty toast and my cup. I threw away the gross bread and chugged two glasses of water, keeping an ear on the game. I turned around to see Zach sitting in my chair. I glared at him as I returned, hoping to make him move. Instead of moving however, he just pulled me down into his lap. I rolled my eyes slightly but pulled his arms tighter around me.

The girls quickly all lost at this game. Liz was down on her first time with the toast, Macey hadn't had to eat yet and Bex had two pieces of toast down. We reached the final round.

"Cammies is stunning." Bex said.

"Cammie is strong." Macey added.

"Cammie is going to lose." Bex said with a wink.

"SUDDEN DEATH!" Liz said cranking the knob on the toaster as high as it would go.

"Cammie is clean."

"Cammie is adorable."

"Cammie is getting sick of this." I whispered under my breath.

"Cammie is modest."

"Cammie is quiet."

"Cammie is calm."

"Cammie is clean."

"Cammie is-" And the toaster cut Macey off.

Zach sat up just a little bit and rubbed his hands together. "Alright McHenry, I've been looking forward to this the whole time. You grab that toast and put some egg, raw, honey, cream cheese, raisins, cheese, icing, bacon, capers, spam, jalapeno peppers, garlic, cheese whiz, aaaaaand peanut butter and jelly."

"You're going to regret this Goode." Macey said as she piled it high on the charcoal like toast. She pulled the toast towards her face and we all leaned forward in anticipation. She put one bite in her mouth and almost immediately ran to spit it out.

"I can't do it! I give!" Macey said holding her hand over her mouth "Someone get me some water?"

"I got it." I said jumping to my feet. "Bex, you get the knives."

"Move Zach." Liz said attempting to get him out of my seat.

"I thought we were done with this?" He complained.

"Nope, we have a three way tie." I explained handing Macey a cup of water, helping her get rid of the pukey feeling.

"After this though, we will have a winner." Bex explained laying out three knives and putting three chairs all next to each other then helping Liz clear off the table.

Macey, Preston, and I sat at the sink, (Macey trying to get rid of the sick feeling, me ready to hold her hair if she started puking, Preston rubbing her back reassuringly) while Liz and Bex finished setting up the tie breaker and Grant, Jonas, and Zach all glared disapprovingly.

Here's how we would do it, Liz would examine us all closely and sing the song at the tempo of her choice while we all did the knife game/song/thing and whoever did it fastest (and with the least cuts) would win. Simple.

"Okay, I think I'm ready." She said finally.

"You sure?" Preston asked gently.

"Absolutely." She said shaking her head to clear it. "Let's do this."

We crossed to the table.

I have never been in such an intense tie breaker, each of us determined to win.

"You guys ready?" Liz asked as we all assumed the position.

"Yeah." We toned in unison.

Vaguely I heard the others respond, but I was too in the zone to properly react

"I can't watch." Jonas.

Beside me Bex popped her neck.

"Someone get a medical kit." Grant.

And Macey flexed her fingers on the handle of the knife.

"They'll be fine." Zach.

I stared at my hand, imagining my movements

"Maybe we should get Solomon and Morgan." Jonas.

And how they would feel in the wrist

"No way, I'm so into this." Grant.

And in my hand

"Only if necessary." Zach.

And how my arm would move.

"Someone record this." Liz.

Each movement would be perfect.

"On it." Grant.

It had to be.

"On my mark girls." Liz instructed.

"Ready."

"Set."

"Go!"

The song began.

"There's an old tradition a game we all can play it starts by getting liquored up and sharpening your blade

You take a shot of whiskey and grab your knife and pray and spread your fingers and this is what you say

Oh I have all my fingers the knife goes chop chop chop and if I miss the spaces between my finger the blood will soon come out

But all the same I play the game cause that's what it's all about

No you can't use a pencil you can't use a pen the only way to is with a knife when danger is your friend

Some may call it stupid some may call it dumb

But all the same we play the game because it's so dang fun

Oh I have all my fingers and the knife goes chop chop chop and if I miss the spaces between my fingers the blood will soon come out

Because that's what it's all about

Oh chop chop chop chop chop chop I'm picking up the speed and if you hit one of your fingers your hand will start to bleed"

Our hands were flying, knives so sharp, minds so focused, a meteor could've crashed in the backyard and we wouldn't have flinched. I nicked my pinky with my knife, then my middle finger. Nothing too serious, nothing from lack of skill, just twisted the blade weird in between fingers. I heard grunts from my sides and knew that the others had nicked their fingers too. Finally the song ended, with blood on our hands and on our table we looked to Liz. She said the two words that would bring my world to a halt.

"Another tie." She stated simply.

We all groaned.

"No more, alright no more! I can't handle this! It's too much!" Jonas exploded.

"Can you three be content with a tie?" Grant asked.

I looked to my sides and the three of us nodded.

"Why the heck didn't you say that before?" Zach asked bewildered.

"You didn't ask." Macey said obviously.

The boys all threw their hands up in the air in defeat.

"That's it, I'm done. No more. I'm moving to Canada." Preston said over exaggerating.

We giggled. "It's not that big of a deal." Bex said.

"Not that big a deal?" Jonas said, obviously perplexed about the whole situation. "I thought I was going to have a heart attack! I really thought I was going to have to sew your fingers back on."

I couldn't help it, I started laughing.

"You really think we're that uncoordinated?" Bex asked angrily.

"There's no telling with you three! It's impossible to know!" Zach said.

Macey rolled her eyes and I wiped the tears from mine.

"Oh ye of little faith." Liz said shaking her head.

"No, you know what, no!" Jonas said with a hand on his hip. "That's it, I'm done, you four head to your room, you're grounded!" he said pointing a finger at us then to the stairs.

"Go on!" Preston said pointing as well.

"Yeah, march. Young Ladies." Grant said, joining in the fun.

"You heard him. March." Zach added.

We looked at each other, weary smiles on our faces, and walked towards the stairs.

Half way up the stairs I whispered to my sisters, "Did we just get grounded by our boyfriends?"

"I think so." Macey said an incredulous look on her face.

Bex and Liz started giggling.

"No Laughing!" Was the last we heard from them.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Awww I love it when you guys review it makes me feel all happy inside then I go "Man I should really write faster then maybe I'll get more reviews" **

Chapter 18

"I can't believe they sent us to our room." I said as we entered Macey and Bex's room.

"Who do they think they are?" Bex said angrily.

"Peace Bex," Macey said soothingly "they're probably just planning for tomorrow and wanted us out of the way."

"Oh." Bex said walking to the bathroom.

I looked at Macey. "Really?" I mouthed.

She shrugged.

We heard a dinging noise come from the room that Liz and I shared.

"What the heck was that?" I wondered aloud.

"The phones." Liz whispered wide eyed.

"I thought we left those in here!" I exclaimed.

"I took them into our room to charge." Liz explained as she ran over to the bathroom door.

"When the heck did you do that?" I asked joining her.

"Almost right after we put the cases on it, when Jonas and I left and you and Zach were trying to get Grant and Bex out of here. We just ran in there really fast. I can't believe we actually beat you downstairs." She said disbelieving.

"BEX!" I yelled through the door. "WE NEED TO GET THROUGH!"

"I'M KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING!" She yelled back.

"DID YOU NOT HEAR OUR PHONES GO OFF? CODE BLUE!" Liz yelled as well.

"HURRY UP BEX!" Macey yelled soon after.

"MACEY? YOU TOO? I'VE BEEN BETRAYED. JUST GO AROUND!" She responded

"WE CAN'T, THE BOYS WON'T LET US OUT OF OUR ROOM." I made up on the spot.

"DID YOU ACTUALLY TRY?"

"OF COURSE!" Macey said, adding on to the lie "WE REALLY NEED TO GET THROUGH SO COULD YOU HURRY?"

"HOW ABOUT YOU JUST RUN THROUGH AND I'LL COVER MYSELF?" She said sarcastically.

"OKAY." Liz yelled back as she began working on the lock.

"WOAH! LIZ I WAS KIDDING!"

"TOO LATE, SHE'S ALMOST GOT THE LOCK OPEN." Macey said with an amused look on her face.

Liz had the door open seconds and I turned my head but couldn't avoid seeing Bex holding up a towel to cover her entire body and the toilet.

"We need to have a talk on boundaries." Bex murmured under her breath.

Macey rolled her eyes as we made for the door. "Don't act like you have bursted in on us seconds after the shower turns off. You've seen more of me than ever wanted you to Baxter."

"It's not my fault you take so bloody long in the bathroom!" We heard Bex cry from the bathroom. Liz and I had both reached our phones, racing to see who had received a text.

"Mine!" Liz and I yelled at the same time. We looked at each other confused.

"When did you receive it?" I asked.

"Two minutes ago." She replied just as curious. "You?"

"Same."

"Wait, are you telling me that your phones went off at the exact same time?" Macey said disbelieving.

"I think so." Liz said slowly.

"No way that's coincidence. I wonder if Bex and I got texts. I think mine's on vibrate." Macey mused as she crossed back through the bathroom.

"Bloody-Macey!" Bex's shout came.

"Oh move on Bex." Macey said as she crossed back swiftly to our room with phones in hand.

"So?" I asked.

"We both got text too. Same time." She replied checking hers and Bex's phones.

"BEX! YOU GOT A TEXT FROM GRANT!" Liz called.

"WHAT?" She exclaimed and seconds later we heard the toilet flush and the water run. She swiftly joined us and yanked her phone out of Macey's hand.

"All it says is 'Hey'" She said disappointed.

"That's all mine has too." Liz added.

"Mine has a period." I added in.

"Preston put a comma." Macey said disgusted at his poor grammar.

"Well, we aren't going to figure anything out if we don't reply." I said settling myself on my bed and unlocking my phone to reply.

The other girls soon joined me and we all quickly sent our replies. Under Macey's direction we all replied with a simple, 'Hey' not a period more.

"Remind me why we're doing this again." I said as we waited for replies.

"Got anything else better in mind?" Macey said turning her phone around in her hands.

"Jab pencils into our legs?" Bex suggested.

"Trick out our phones." Liz added.

"Build a fort?" I mused.

"Actually, that would be kind of fun." Macey said popping up. "I've never built a fort before."

"I don't think I have either." Bex added.

"Seriously? Okay, that settles it, we're building a fort." Liz said grabbing a notebook from under the bed. "I have the perfect formula for this. This is going to be the best fort in existence. Go get the sheets and blankets from the other room."

We crossed dutifully to the other room and swiftly stripped the bed. We dropped them in a pile on the floor and stood there waiting for more instruction.

Liz eyed the pile woefully. "Are there more blankets in the closets?" She asked. I nodded. "Beautiful, grab those and strip this bed as well. I'll be done with the plans pretty soon. This shouldn't be too hard. Oh, we need tape, clothespins, safety pins, or anything you can think of that might help."

Five minutes later, we had all the supplies rounded up and were ready to start building. Liz redid her ponytail and began instructing us.

"Bex, Cam, grab the top sheet and safety pin it to the other one. Safety pin it to the fitted ones as well so it will cover the whole room. Macey, help me safety pin these light blankets together. We'll attach them to the others in a second."

We worked quickly and semi-quietly. Bex and I yelped whenever we stuck ourselves with the safety pins, which was more often than I would like to admit. Macey and Liz were done way before us. After seeing the pathetic amount we had done, Liz reassigned us to gathering pillows and bringing the mattress in from the other room. It took us almost five minutes because we wanted to move the mattress without disrupting anything else. After bringing it across the bathroom it became clear that the height difference between the two beds was going to cause a problem and that the two bed frames wouldn't fit next to each other.

So began the next leg of our journey. First Liz had us take the other mattress off the bed frame and carry it to Macey and Bex's room, then she had us take the bedside tables to the other room as well, then we moved the dresser into the closet, carefully maneuvering around the dresses. Despite our care, Macey ordered us to take all the new purchases from today into the bathroom, and to hang all four outfits out to hand and 'breathe' with the shoes still packed carefully in their boxes under the corresponding outfit. Then Macey had us organize everything else we had bought that day in the bathroom so it would be ready for the next day according to who was going to use it.

By the time we were done with that, Liz and Macey had finished hanging the ceiling and walls of the fort. The mattress' were flat on the floor but they weren't done yet. They apparently needed new sheets to go on them, as well as new blankets and more pillows. Where they planned to get this, I didn't know. It seemed I wasn't going to find out however, because Bex and I were ordered to go and find christmas lights. When we asked where we were supposed to find them, we were ignored.

"I guess we could go check the garage. Or see if my mom has any idea." I suggested. Bex shrugged and we moved to exit from her and Macey's room.

"Oh, you need to make the boys look with you." Macey said as she readjusted the hanging of one of the sheets.

"Why?" Bex asked. We were not given an answer.

"Just go! And take your time!" Liz added, helping Macey with aforementioned sheet.

Bex and I made eye contact before heaving a sigh and moving to leave the room. As soon as we entered the hallway, all four boys popped out of their respective rooms. Zach and Jonas further down the hall, across from me and Liz, then Preston and Grant from across from Bex and Macey's room.

"You four are grounded what are you doing out of your room?" Jonas asked faux crossly.

"We need christmas lights and we need your help to find them." Bex said bluntly.

"Why?" Grant asked.

"Well because you're taller than us so you can reach into the high places-" Jonas cut her off.

"I assume he meant why do you need christmas lights."

"We honestly don't really know...we were sent to find them, and here we are...trying to find them…" I said.

"What does it have to do with us?" Zach asked.

Bex started to answer in a very annoyed voice "Well if you don't want to help us I guess we could just-" All the boys at once tried to cut her off. I guess they didn't want to make us mad again.

"No, no, no, we'll help." Grant said the loudest.

"Where are Mace and Liz?" Preston asked.

"They're getting ready for bed." I answered. Not entirely a lie.

"Why didn't you guys text us back?" Jonas asked, seemingly against his will.

I looked at Bex and she shrugged. "We didn't hear our phones go off." She answered quickly and we began to bounce down the stairs.

The followed quickly, mumbling under the breath. Something about girls and... I couldn't make out the last part.

"So where do you think they would be?" Zach asked jumping off the last stair right next to me.

"Garage maybe." I said automatically.

"There isn't a garage." Bex said.

"Right. Closets then. Bex and I will look upstairs, you four look down here. You can check my mom's room too. I think there's an office around here somewhere too. I'm sure we can find some." I instructed and we took off running.

The boys heaved a sigh before splitting up to look for christmas lights. As soon as Bex and I reached the upstairs we caught a glimpse of Macey and Liz disappearing into our room with an unknown object. The door shut behind them and I looked at Bex. She made eye contact with me, she didn't move so it was my call. I shrugged and we opened the closet in between the two rooms the boys shared. We dug through boxes and looked on the shelf. Nothing there. We looked around once to see if there were anymore closets that we may have missed not seeing anything. Suddenly Bex nudged my arm.

"Look up there." She said gesturing to a hatch in the ceiling.

"Well that looks promising." I said as I walked towards it.

"Cam…" Bex warned.

"Oh come on Bex, we're in a beach house in Florida, nothing dangerous is going to be up there. Except for maybe spiders." I said an exasperated look on my face.

"Right. Sorry, habit." She said as she stood next to me under the hatch.

"Boost me up?" I asked as I pulled my hair from my face.

"Yeah." She cupped her hands and I put my foot into in and she launched me upwards.

I grabbed the handle of the hatch and yanked it down. No ladder fell meaning it was going to be more fun to get up.

"Going up." I mumbled as Bex lifted me just a tad higher. I grabbed the ledge and hoisted myself in. There in the corner was a pile of christmas lights.

"Bingo!" I called down to Bex.

"I prefer catchphrase." She responded cheekily. I rolled my eyes and chuckled before making my way carefully across the beams.

As I neared the lights I heard Zach's voice float up from below. "Hey guys, we couldn't find anything down- wait where's Cammie."

"Why do I get a feeling he's not going to like the answer?" Jonas asked before Bex could answer.

"She's getting lights." Bex answered confidently.

"Where?" Grant asked.

"Where do you think?" I heard Bex answer, I could picture her pointing up to where I was. I scooped up the lights and spun on one of the beams.

"Cam?" Zach called.

In response I threw the lights across the space and through the hole. I heard a grunt and then laughter. Judging by Bex's hoots Zach was standing underneath the opening and was hit by the lights. I giggled myself.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" I heard Macey's voice faintly ask. She must've come from hers and Bex's room.

"Cammie is up in the ceiling." Preston answered. "And she just hit Zach with lights."

I took advantage of the situation to look around up there. There were a lot of boxes so I picked one and began pawing through it.

"She is not up in the ceiling." Bex clarified. "She's just in the cool little attic."

"Hey Cam!" Liz's voice came louder than the rest.

"Yeah?" I called back.

"Are you coming down anytime soon?" She asked.

"Eh...Maybe." I answered moving on to a different box. "There's lots of cool stuff up here."

"Great, wanna let us know what kind of stuff?" Macey asked.

"Lots of stuff...pictures, journals, holiday decorations, etc." I called down. I looked across the space to see if there was anything interesting. "There's also a very old, very gorgeous wedding dress." I said as I crossed towards the vintage dress. It had a garment bag over it, a clear old one that actually did a pretty good job of keeping dust and such off.

"Oooo, I wanna see!" Bex said. "Gimme a hand." She ordered someone, probably Grant.

Seconds later her head popped up and I crossed over to give her a hand up.

"I wanna see too." Liz said almost jumping up and down with excitement.

"Ditto." Macey said stepping up close behind Liz. Grant heaved a sigh and lifted Liz up to where Bex and I could grab her and we pulled her up then set her down carefully before helping Macey up.

I raised an eyebrow at the boys, asking if they were going to join us.

"Oh what the hay, come on Jonas." Grant said reaching over for his friend. Jonas' eyebrows shot up but he didn't disagree. Grant and Zach lifted him up, then Preston, then Grant boosted Zach up and Zach reached down and lifted Grant up one arm braced on the beam nearest the entrance.

I looked at Bex and raised my eyebrow and looked twice quickly at Zach and Grant, which is the equivalent of me saying 'would you look at that, they're so buff' and she widened her eyes appreciatively meaning she agreed and thought we were dang lucky to witness it. Not that we would ever let them know that we thought that.

"Wow...would you look at the detail on this dress." Macey said appreciatively and Bex and I snapped back to reality and whirled around to examine the dress with them. The boys wandered to each corner of the attic, looking for something manly.

"Are we going to risk taking the sleeve off?" I asked as Bex and I crossed to the dress.

"Absolutely." Macey said and we began to oh so carefully remove the garment bag.

"Wow." I said speechless as we gazed at the stunning gown in front of us.

The dress was old, very old Liz estimated the early 1900's and it was stunning. It had beading all along the neckline and was a pale white, yellowing with age. It had sheer sleeves with webbing threads along the sleeves. It hung straight and had beading at the bottom of the neckline and some many other details that I can't even begin to describe.

"Where on earth do you find a dress like this?" Bex breathed.

"Look at the veil." Liz added fingering the very lightly beaded piece of webbed fabric. It matched the dress perfectly and even had the same style about it.

"Wow…" We all breathed together.

"Hey, check it out, old comics." Grant said from to our left.

"This place is so cool." Bex determined as we gathered around the boys.

"Dude, Marvel is the best." Jonas said reaching for the comic.

"Pfft, DC is way better." Preston tried to argue and we all just stopped to stare at him. He backed down quickly. "But you know, Marvel is cool too."

"We should probably go back down." Zach said as the guys flipped through the comic.

"Yeah…" Jonas said absentmindedly. He shook his head once. "Yeah, you four are still grounded." He flipped the comic shut and carefully set it in a box. "Come along." He walked for the exit.

The girls and I carefully replaced the garment bag on the dress then shuffled towards the exit.

"Liz down first." Grant said as he and Zach reached for her arms to pass her down to Jonas and Preston.

Liz was lowered to the ground, then Macey.

"Alright Bex." Grant said reaching for her. Bex and I stepped out of reach.

"We can get down on our own thank you." I said spiritedly. The boys exchanged a look then shrugged and jumped down. Literally jumped.

"Do we look like that?" Bex asked me.

"Nah, when we do it, it looks cute." I said shaking my head at them. Or rather where they were.

"Okay, I'm going down first." Bex said as she made for the hole.

"You gonna catch me if I do something insane?" I asked quietly before she jumped down.

She winked at me and dropped down.

I waited an acceptable amount of time before following her by crossing to the hole. I sat down on the edge and fell backwards, my legs keeping from falling on my head. I grabbed onto the ledge with my hands and flipped backwards, I reached to the side and swung the hatch shut which took some skill then I landed in a crouch a few inches from Bex. We made eye contact and she cheered and gave me a high five.

"Whoop Whoop Cam! That was epic!" Bex said congratulating me.

"Thank you, thank you." I said with a mock bow as Liz and Macey giggled.

"Well, we better get back to our room." Macey said picking up the lights and crossing to her door, the rest of us following.

"So what were the for?" Jonas asked.

"What?" Macey asked turning back.

"The christmas lights." He said gesturing.

"Oh...well...you'll find out eventually I'm sure." Macey said grinning evilly.

The boys rolled their eyes and we went into our room.

"Text us back!" Grant called as we closed the door.

Macey shut the door and leaned up against it and wiped a hand across her forehead, as if wiping away sweat. Her expression read 'That was close.'

"So are you going to tell us why we had to go get christmas lights? And why we had to take the boys with us?" I asked as we began walking to the other room.

"Well, the christmas lights were for decoration and you needed to take the boys so we could steal their pillows." Macey said, leading the way.

"We've got everything else set up, we just need to do the christmas lights." Liz explained as we entered the room.

It looked incredible. The fort hung low enough that the room seemed smaller but it didn't hang so low that we couldn't stand up straight. They had laid the mattresses on the floor covered with fresh sheets and blankets. All of our pillows were on it arranged nicely with the boys pillows there as well. Everything was hung artistically and it looked really cool.

"Please tell me you took a picture of this." I said moving to help hang the lights.

"We will as soon as the lights are up." Macey said.

With all four of us helping, the lights went up fairly quickly, and when we turned them on and turned the lights off, it illuminated the space so it looked magical.

"Wow…" We breathed as we took it all in.

"Get a picture." I said breathlessly. It really looked so much cooler than I had thought.

"Liz you're a genius." Bex said.

"I know." Liz replied with a smirk.

Macey picked up her phone and snapped a quick picture.

"This is going to be so fun." She said with a smile.

"But first we have to text the boys back. I get the feeling that if we don't they're gonna come barging in here and no one wants that." Liz said.

"Right." I heaved a sigh and picked up my phone.

One new message from Zach. I opened it and read;'So...what are you girls up to?'

I replied a quick 'Nothing much, you guys?' and hit send before dropping my phone back on the floor and leaving to find my deck of cards. I had a hankering for a good old fashioned round of Scum.

"You guys wanna play Scum?" I called as I went to get the cards.

"Yes!" Liz's reply came.

"No!" Came Bex's quick answer.

"Yes!" Came Macey's.

I suspected as much. Macey and Liz ruled Scum, Bex and I weren't so great but I was feeling lucky. See, Scum is based on cutthroat American Capitalism, Macey had that born in her blood and Liz is a genius while Bex and I...well...let's just say we would be much better if there was the actual cutting of throats.

"Let's do it, Bex you start out as Pres." Macey instructed and I ran back into the room to see them already arranged in the proper seating order.

"Cam, you're Manager." Macey said pointing to the space between herself and Bex. I guess she was Worker and Liz, for the time being, Scum.

"Deal them cards Scum." Bex said with a redneck accent.

And so it began. Liz dealt the cards then passed her two highest to Bex. Macey passed me her highest and I handed her one card I didn't want to replace the one she gave me and Bex handed Liz her two unwanted cards.

Bex made the first move, she made it low by putting down a 2. I placed a five on the pile, Macey a six, Liz an eight and the game continued. A bare five minutes later Lizzie laid down the last of her cards and claimed the President's place. Macey ran out of cards next by playing four jacks and it was left to Bex and me. After some heart stopping moments I finally put down my last card making me worker. Bex scowled at her rotten luck.

"Clear the board Scum." Liz said with a smirk. And the next round began. As we played we chatted.

"So, anybody having a very interesting conversation with their male figure?" Macey asked picking up her phone, checking it, tapping a reply and dropping it once more."

"I think Grant fell asleep." Bex said frowning at her cards.

"Jonas and I are talking about what we're going to do with the phones." Liz said absentmindedly, almost out of cards once more.

"My phones over there." I said furrowing my brow at the cards I had left. "Pass." I said referencing to the game.

"So you honestly don't know what kind of conversation you'd be having." Macey asked skeptically.

"Absolutely none." I said frowning at Liz as she placed the rest of her cards down. She had both Jokers.

"Clear the board Scum." She said picking up her phone and sent her fingers flying.

"What were you and Grant talking about Bex?" I asked.

"I was trying to get him to tell me what we were doing tomorrow." Bex said straightening the cards.

"How was that working out for you?" Macey asked with a small smirk.

"Not very well. I think I almost cracked him when he stopped replying."

"One of the boys probably realized what he was doing and took his phone." I said with a smile.

Liz laughed. "According to Jonas, that's exactly what happened. He's wrestling Zach for it back now."

We laughed along with her.

"Oh Cam, Zach's complaining about you not texting him back, and I'm not supposed to tell you." Macey said as her phone buzzed beside her.

The next game started.

"Well, I'm sure I'll reply eventually." I said as I gathered my cards in front of me.

"He's not being very patient according to Jonas, he's being 'whiney'." Liz said putting air quotes around whiney.

"Wow I can honestly say I never picture Zach Goode whining." I said with a glance at Liz.

"He may have over exaggerated a little." Liz said frowning at her cards.

"So what do we know about what we're doing tomorrow?" I asked switching topics.

"We can assume we're all doing different things, except for maybe Cam and Bex. We don't know when we have to be ready by or even when they plan on leaving so that makes things difficult." Macey said as she picked up her phone and sent a text. Probably asking Preston about tomorrow.

"Well I think we all need to make sure we have our phones on us tomorrow so we can call or text in case of an emergency." Bex said thinking ahead for once.

"It's slowly driving me mad that I don't know what we're doing tomorrow." I said as I stared absentmindedly at my cards, only half listening to their conversation.

"It's alright Cam, let's talk about something else for a while." Macey said comfortingly.

"Like what? OH I know, like how over protective Zach was acting tonight." Bex said quickly.

"Yeah, what was up with that?" I asked snapping to attention.

"I thought Cam was going to bite his head off." Liz said seriously.

"I thought Macey was going to kill him." Bex said with a chuckle. I laughed a little at that thought.

"I thought it was cute...for about ten seconds then it was just irritating." Macey said.

"Does anyone have any ideas as to why?" I asked shaking my head.

"Because he's in loooooove with you!" Bex said cheesily.

I threw a pillow at her. "Does anyone else have an idea?"

"I kind of think Bex is right…" Liz said sheepishly. "Clear the board scum." She had won again.

"By all accounts it doesn't really make any sense, I think maybe he's just finally cracked. Why do boys feel the need to be overprotective?" I sighed.

"At times it was a little funny. Like when he really thought we were going to choke. Pfft, as if." Bex said with a shake of her head.

"I think it's in their genetic code." Macey said.

"It might be...I'll look into it." Liz said.

"I wonder what the rest of the girls are up to...We really need to find a better way of communicating over the summers." Bex said switching topics.

"I bet Tina is helping her mom come up with some ridiculous rumors for her column." I said with a smile.

"I bet Kim is spending a lot of time with her dad." Liz remarked.

"What are you going to do with your family this summer Liz?" Macey asked.

"Probably going to spend time with my sisters...swimming, barbecues, studying, arguing and the like. Sometimes it's hard to remember they can't fight back and I'm not allowed to show my training on them." Liz answered. "What are your plans Bex?"

"Missions with my parents. Lots of training if I can get it. I hope my parents will make a lot of their home-made food. Sometimes I get really tired of American food." She said with an eye roll. "What are you and Cammie going to with your family Mace?"

"Spend time avoiding my parents. Shopping. A bunch of random things. I want to give Cammie highlights. Probably a lot of boring parties for politicians." Macey answered vaguely.

"Obviously we'll be skyping you often as well."

"Colored highlights would go with the new look I have planned for Cammie." Bex said

"Cammie's getting a new look? Does Cammie know?" Liz asked surprised.

"Indeed she does, she even agreed to it. As a matter of fact, it was her idea." I said referring to myself in the third person.

Macey threw her phone to the ground "Why didn't anyone tell me?" She said very annoyed, an intense look in her eye."

"Did I forget to tell you? Whoops." Bex said not sounding very sorry.

"Well obviously I have to start planning out this new look." Macey said reaching for her phone once more.

"Don't bother, I've already got it planned." Bex said in a sing song voice.

Macey gave her the stink eye. "And why was I not consulted?" She took great pride in being the clothing expert in our group, the only clothing expert in our group.

"Because I knew you would agree with me, it's a great idea." Bex said slowly.

"What did you have in mind?" Macey asked dangerously.

"Edgy chic, similar to what I have now." Bex said innocently and quickly.

Macey thought it over for a moment then nodded slowly, and Bex heaved a silent sigh of relief.

"So are we all going to get new looks?" Liz asked.

"We should, it would be loads of fun." Bex exclaimed quickly.

"Definitely." Liz agreed.

"That's it, we're all going to get new looks." Macey said and she banged her hand on the ground like a gavel.

"This is going to be epic, clear the board scum." Liz said as I placed the last of my cards down and yet another game was over.

"I'm done playing this game." Bex said throwing the cards down.

"You just hate it because you always lose." I said throwing my cards in the pile, because honestly I was rather sick of losing as well.

"You lose as often as I do!" Bex exclaimed loudly.

"Well, that's beside the point." I said obviously.

"Well what should we do now?" Macey asked.

"We could always take more pictures. Dumb ones." I said

"Pictures are always dangerous though." Bex put in. "Food?"

"Just had a ton." Liz said. "Work on codes and ciphers?"

"Mega-boring." Macey said. "Make up prep for tomorrow?"

"No way…" Bex said. "I got it, it's time for The Challenge."

"Yes!" I shouted in agreement.

"Let's do it." Macey said jumping up.

"How about not." Liz said quietly.

"Come on Lizzie, be a sport." Bex said stretching a little.

I joined her in her stretches and Macey did as well. "It will be very fun." I said in a little kid's voice.

"I always lose." Liz complained.

"That doesn't mean it's not fun." Macey said.

"No more talking, let's do this." Bex said clapping her hands together.

Let me explain The Challenge, for all of you who don't know. It is how we prepare for P&amp;E tests, and it's perhaps one of the hardest things I've ever done. It's tons of simple physical exercises over and over and over again until you literally collapse from physical exhaustion. Great fun, and great pain all at one time. Me and Bex love to do it, Macey's starting to like it, but poor little Liz would rather skip the pain and just collapse at the thought of it.

"You don't have to do it if you don't want to Liz, you can work on something else if you'd like." I said generously.

"I might just work on our phones... Jonas and I have got some great ideas that are going to take a while to put into place." Liz said quietly.

"Go ahead, as long as you write down how many reps we do." Bex said as we lined up against the wall.

"Can do." I started to ask her a question, but she answered before I could even voice them. "Your previous record is 50 reps of each."

"I think you may have just read my mind." I said seriously.

Liz smiled at me and we began.

Now, I honestly wish I could tell you how many reps we did of sit ups, push ups, squats, various painful stretches, and even how long we spent trying to hold each other up in the air but honestly it's all kind of a blur. All I remember is about two and half hours later the three of us were collapsing to the ground in exhaustion and Liz was congratulating us. My muscles felt like jelly and I didn't want to move. Like at all. So, before I dropped to the floor, I picked up my phone and dragged Macey and Bex onto the mattress beside Liz and collapsed next to them, the four of us in a pile.

After regaining feeling in my hands, I opened my phone to look at the text from Zach. The one I had avoided most of the night.

The message wasn't long. It read 'we're just working out some of the plans for tomorrow.'

I quickly tapped out a reply. 'Is that so? When do we get to know the details of this, oh so incredible plan?' I sent it and received a reply almost immediately.

'Tomorrow(:' He said. The conversation continued.

'How about right now instead?(;' I said hoping to glean some information out of him.

'All I can tell you is that you're going to love it.' He replied confidently.

'You sure about that Blackthorne Boy?' I said teasingly.

'Definitely. Now get some sleep Gallagher Girl, we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow(;' And I knew no matter how many texts I sent, that was the last I was going to hear of Zach for the night.

I glanced at the time and winced. It was rather late. I looked over at Macey and Bex and saw them as they fought sleep.

"Let's get to sleep." I said as I pushed myself painfully up to go and plug my phone in.

"I can plug your phone in for you Cam, I need to upload the new software on it anyway." Liz said reaching for my phone.

"Thanks." I replied as I rolled over and pulled a blanket towards me.

Macey groaned. "We need to change."

Vaguely I recollected that we were still in our shopping clothes, which meant everyone but Bex was in a skirt. I groaned.

Bex, Macey, and I pushed ourselves off the mattresses and slowly made our way to the other room. We swiftly changed into black spandex and tank tops to help us fight the heat and stumbled back into the bathroom. We brushed our teeth and removed make up very quickly and impatiently.

"Does anyone have that muscle relief stuff?" Bex mumbled around her tooth brush.

She was talking about the cream that we got from the pharmacy for sore muscles that sucks. Liz modified it so that it would actually work for a while.

"I have some in the other room." I said moving to go get it.

"So do I, we're gonna need both tubes." Macey said.

We gathered up the two tubes and slathered it all over the parts of us that were the most sore. It smelled minty and left your skin rather moisturized. As soon as our muscles were blessedly numb, we made our way to the room we planned to sleep in.

Liz had moved to one side of the mattresses and so the three of us collapsed on top of each other and laid there, idly trying not to die.

"G'night guys." I mumbled as I pulled a blanket over me.

"G'night." They all replied sleepily.

The last thing I thought about before falling asleep was how the pillow I laid on smelled like Zach.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: I'm so sorry I swore I wasn't going to be this author but I had to change a couple of things that I mentioned before to make it fit this chapter, nothing major but I'm still so so so so so sorry. Thanks for reviewing guys, getting reviews always makes my day(; **

Chapter 19

The next morning, I woke to Bex shaking my shoulders and repeating the phrase "Today's the day." Yeesh, it's like we were getting married or something she was so freaked out.

"Peace Bex." I said touching her shoulder and she realized that she was speaking out loud. She gave me a sheepish smile and then went to shake Macey's shoulder.

I reached to my other side and gave Liz a shove.

"Mmmm." She moaned.

"It's Friday Lizzie. You know what today is. We have to get ready."

"What time is it?" She mumbled.

"Almost 11." I said and Macey jumped right out of bed. Literally jumped.

"What time do we have to be ready?" Macey asked wide eyed.

"Dunno." I replied after thinking about it quickly.

"Everybody check your phones. I updated them last night so there might be a few surprises, but don't freak." Liz said climbing out of bed towards the opposite wall where our phones were charging.

"Nothing." Macey said.

"Nothing about tonight." Bex said.

"Got it! We all have to be ready at different times, jerks, I have to be ready by 6, Macey by 7, and Cam and Bex need to be ready by 7:45." Liz read off.

We all sighed in aggravation. It should be twenty times easier to get ready but the fact that the times were so close together and that Macey was in the middle would just make it harder.

"Okay, it's 10:47, we have precisely 7 hours and 13 minutes and absolutely no food. This needs to be fixed. Cam, contact your mom while I go over our bathroom prep. Liz make a schedule so we can make sure everyone gets done on time. Bex, clear the floor in the other room. Do the circle , help her when you're done" Macey instructed. She then stalked off towards the bathroom.

"Circle thingy?" Bex asked.

"You know, the thing we do in our dorm sometimes when there's a town day. When we put our desks and beds all along the sides of the room and clear that huge space in the middle with all the mirrors and stuff balanced on the beds and desks." I said describing what Macey wanted.

"Oh the thing with all the outfits and stuff." She said realization dawning.

"Yeah, the one for trying on clothes. You might wanna ask Macey what she wants in there though." I said as I finally opened my phone to text my mom.

"Will do." She replied crossing the bathroom.

I had one new text from Zach. It read, 'So, Gallagher Girl, would you like to explain where our pillows disappeared to?' I checked the time and he had sent it about an hour after his last text. I replied. 'I have no idea what you're talking about' I sent back quickly. I then switched to a new message for my mom. I quickly asked her if she would bring us something to eat but before I could put my phone down I got a new text from Zach.

'So you're saying you have no idea what happened to our pillows?'

'That's what I'm saying.' I replied.

I unplugged my phone and crossed through the bathroom to help Bex. By the time I reached the other room, Zach had replied.

'Why don't I believe you?(:' He said.

'Because you're a naturally suspicious person?' I typed quickly before dropping my phone by the door.

"You know if you keep dropping your phone like that, you're going to break it." Bex commented.

I shrugged then went to help her move the bed frames. Once we had everything cleared out of the way and the mirrors and stations set up, which I will admit took us longer than it should have, we heard a knock on the door.

"Food!" My mom's voice called and I hurried to open the door.

She did not skimp on the food. Not only was there hot food to eat right then (those little pizza bites that Liz and I adored), but she had a bunch of fruit and vegetables that we could snack on while we got ready. As we moved the tray full of food to an accessible but out of the way place, she surveyed our room.

"Wow you girls have been busy. Where are the beds may I ask?"

"In the other room." Bex replied while we shoved mini pizza's in our mouths.

"Nice. I assume all the outfits are in there as well?" She questioned, and just then Macey and Liz came through carrying two outfits each, Macey had my dress and Bex's, while Liz had her outfit and Macey's.

"They were in the bathroom." I told her in reply to her earlier question.

"I've almost got everything set up." Macey told us as she put a carrot stick in her mouth.

"Oooh, Pizza!" Liz exclaimed. She crossed to us and put one in her mouth.

"It's like a salon in here with all the things you girls have got going on." My mom said with a smile. "Can I see the rest of your setup?" She asked.

"Sure, come on Cam and I will take you on a tour." Bex said grabbing my arm.

"Don't touch anything in the bathroom yet, I'm not done." Macey said as Bex and I brought her to the doorway.

"Okay, well first of all this room is all outfits and shoes and accessories, etc, etc. You could call this the finishing room." I said before we reached the bathroom. As we entered the doorway Bex took over.

"The bathroom is mostly for prep. Showers, hair, make-up, calming scents." She explained as we surveyed the organized chaos that can only be achieved by Macey.

There were towels set out, two for each of us, on the window sill. The colors dictated whose was whose. On the counter there was all of the makeup in order of who was going to use it first. We all generally used the same type of makeup but we all had different skin tones (except for me and Macey) so it was spread out from Liz to Bex. Ironically it was lightest skin to darkest. In the shower she had laid out the four different shampoo's and conditioners we used as well as laid out like ten different body scrubs that would each be used by all of us. She also had lotions and moisturizers laid out at various points throughout it all. Very nicely done.

"Lastly, this is where we slept last night and most likely where we will sleep again tonight." I said opening the final door to our fort.

When we opened the door, she gasped. Liz, who is kind of a neat freak, had made the bed on the floor and made sure everything was cleared off the floor so it looked magical once more. No one had bothered to turn off the christmas lights so they worked with the morning light to make the room look luminous. It looked just as good as it did last night.

"You girls made this?" She said as she walked further into the room. We nodded. "This is incredible! I wish I had done something like this when I was young…" She trailed off in awe of it. I looked at Bex and giggled.

"So ma," I said snapping her back to reality "What are the boys up to?"

"Oh, they're in a panic getting everything ready. Zach and Grant have been on the computer for almost an hour now. Preston has been on the phone for just as long and I think Jonas is doing math." She explained.

"Math?" I said confused.

"Probably calculating the odds of the night going horribly wrong." Bex said with a snicker and I giggled along with her.

"Cam!" Macey called from the other room. I stuck my head in the doorway.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Your phone has been going off like crazy, come check it!" She said tossing said phone across the bathroom for me to look at.

I had two new text messages. I rolled my eyes, a little then opened the messages. The first one read 'I am not that suspicious.' And the next said, 'Well maybe a little bit. Maybe.' I snorted before replying.

'You can't lie to me Zachary Goode, I know you're suspicious.' Then threw my phone onto the bathroom counter.

"I'm not kidding Cam, one of these days you're going to break it." Bex said with a shake of her head.

"I'll believe it when I see it." I said with a smile before bumping my hip into hers.

She smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Guys, come here we need to go over the schedule." Macey called and Bex and I started to cross to the other room.

As we made it to the other room, my mom jumped to speak before Macey could.

"Would you girls mind if I stayed to help? I'm not really doing much downstairs and this could be lots of fun." She asked.

"Absolutely, any help is very welcome." Macey said with a look of relief. "I was planning on asking you to help actually. Okay, here's the plan. Lizzie is going to shower first, we'll go over what that entails in a moment, after she's done I'm going to shower while Liz gets into stage one of her outfit. When she's done I will take her place and Cammie will get in the shower. After Cammie is done in the shower, she will move into stage one of her outfit. After Bex is out of the shower, we will take a break and plan out from there.

"You will have exactly 9 minutes in the shower. Everyone of us needs to use the shampoo of her choice and my conditioner. There are instructions on the back that must be followed. Each body scrub needs to be used by each person according the instructions on the bottles. While you're waiting to shower you can help me set up everything else we'll need to use. Everyone clear?" Macey asked, eyebrows raised expectantly.

Simultaneously, Bex, Liz, and I let out a "Yes Sir!" And saluted. My mom laughed as Macey ushered Liz into the bathroom and pointed out which towels were hers. Bex and I plugged in Macey's ipod and hit shuffle.

So while we waited for Liz to give us the okay, we all crossed carefully into the bathroom. Now, Liz has three sisters, one older and two younger so she doesn't find it as weird as the rest of us to have other people in the bathroom while she showers. I mean, it's not like we could see anything so it wasn't exactly weird.

"Okay, so we're going to organize makeup, moisturizer, and hair stations. We're curling Cammie and Bex's hair but Liz and I are going to straighten ours. Cam will you plug those in over there?" Macey asked pointing to the far end of the sink. I obliged while the others got started organizing makeup.

There was so much. I mean, there were four of us who were so completely different but there was still. So. Much. Macey arranged everything by person. Liz was on the far left of the counter, nearest the curling irons and the hair straightner (I hoped Liz wouldn't burn herself on them), then Macey and I have a very similar skin tone so we shared all our makeup and that was in the middle then Bex had everything of hers on the far right. There were a lot of things we shared like mascara and lip shades and those were dispersed evenly between the sections, all within easy reach. By the time we had finished organizing the makeup Liz was out of the shower, and it was Macey's turn.

"Oh, before I shower, Liz, Bex and I got some things for you and Cam while we were shopping yesterday." Macey said crossing to the finishing room and walking to the closet where a bag was hidden.

Macey opened the bag, and horror of horrors it had underwear in it. And not just any underwear, it was the unspeakable things Liz and I had thought we avoided buying the day before!

"Macey! We got underwear!" Liz explained with flaming cheeks.

"But nothing that would work with what you're wearing!" Macey explained. "You needed something that would work well underneath your dresses and something that wouldn't ride up under your shorts!" She laid out a set for each of us. Liz's face was as red as her set and I blushed when I saw what she got me.

"You needed something more supportive, especially you Cam, and as your best friends we found it to be our responsibility to make sure we didn't have another incident like at the ball." Bex explained as we stared blankly at what they had offered.

It wasn't so bad really, a little something to go underneath on top and something to go on bottom that looked both cute and functional.

"And," Macey said drawing our attention to the shorts that accompanied the earlier items. "We got you shorts with pockets so we can all carry our phones with us."

"We didn't even have phones yesterday." I protested.

"Yeah but your mom mentioned getting them, so we decided it would be a good fail safe. Now, Liz you go put on stage one." Macey instructed throwing a pink button up shirt (where did she get that?) on Liz's pile and a purple one on mine before moving to the bathroom with her own. "Brush out your hair when you're done, I'm going to shower.

Macey's shower was over in a flash and eventually Liz and I stopped grumbling about Bex and Macey's secret purchase. I showered exactly to Macey's instructions (getting more and more impatient with every passing minute) and slipped on the unwanted gift before waiting for Bex to finish. Macey sat with us in her blue button up shirt as we brushed our hair one hundred times. After Bex appeared in her red button up shirt, we were all ready for stage two.

"Okay, now it's time to wash our faces and use that face mask that Liz made a while back." Macey said as we crossed to the bathroom.

"Do we have enough?" I asked.

"Definitely, not get working." Macey said handing me a bottle and I began washing my face.

It's a very laborious process. It involves scrubbing your face twice, once with a really painful scrub that burns and then with a different painful scrub that burns more. Then we applied Liz's magic face mask that we had to let sit for five minutes. As we waited, we chatted.

"I always feel like a green monster with this stuff on my face." I remarked as we sat on the floor of the bathroom with my mom.

"Yeah, I like to pretend I'm the hulk." Liz said with a smile.

"Sometimes I hit people really hard and if I knock them unconscious after not so long of a fight, I always tell myself I'm the hulk." Bex admitted.

"Bex SMASH!" I said in a deep voice.

"Cam, Zach wants you to text him back and I'm not supposed to tell you." Macey said as she typed a reply on her phone.

"I don't know where my phone went." I lied.

"Liar." My mom said, calling me out.

I sighed. "Fine, I just keep forgetting he sends me messages and then I'm having fun with you guys and I don't really want to reply." I said reaching for my phone.

"Aww Cam you're sweet." Liz said and I grinned at her.

"No you're sweet Liz." I said poking her in the stomach.

"Oh no, we aren't doing this right now." Bex said coming to seperate us.

Liz and I made disappointed noises.

"We don't have time for it today, you can later though." Macey said patting my shoulder comfortingly and my mom laughed.

"Alright, it's been five minutes." I said standing up. We all crossed to the sink and rinsed off our faces then dabbed them on our color coordinated towels before moisturizing.

"Okay, it's time for make up." Macey said. "Mrs. Morgan, I want you to help Liz with hers. Something natural and nothing too harsh. Cam, you're going to help me do mine then I'll do yours when I'm done. Mrs. Morgan will you do Bex when you're done with Liz?"

"You're the boss." My mom said with a smile before reaching for one of the same chairs that we used when we waxed just a few days before.

So it began. Makeup and hair always take the longest amount of time, on a regular basis we could take ten minutes to do our makeup, each, but this wasn't a regular day so I estimated that it would take a half hour each with makeup and at least an hour and a half per person with hair if all went according to plan. We might be cutting it close.

Doing make up with Macey was easy and fun, she liked to chatter while she did her makeup and all I really had to do was pass her certain things when she asked for them.

"Hand me the big fluffy brush." She asked as we began. She knew I had no idea which brush was named what, and this would be much faster than me searching for the one she was talking about.

We chatted about trivial things for a while, about school, and the guys and their plans for the e

"So what do you have planned for makeup?" I asked her.

"For you or for me?" She asked.

"Both."

"Okay, well I'm doing a sort of basic evening makeup on myself, you know the one where I use the really shimmery eye shadow that catches the light?" I nodded that I knew what she was talking about. "Then I'm trying this new idea I've had for a while on you, it might take a few minutes but it will work perfectly on you for tonight."

"Are you going to do the smokey eye thing?" I asked.

"I'm going to try something similar to it." She said. "It's the same basic principles but not really…" She paused for a minute and looked at me. "That didn't make any sense, sorry. It's hard to explain. For the moment it's just a picture in my head and I don't really know how to put it into words yet."

"I know the feeling. I can't wait to see it. Why do they call it a smokey eye?"

"Because it looks like smoke."

"But it doesn't really, I mean you can hardly see smoke some of the time and most of the time when people do smokey eyes it looks really dark."

"Do you remember that one time we caught the chem labs on fire and the smoke was like black?"

"Oh yeah that was really intense."

"Yeah it was…" She trailed off.

"This one time when we were seventh graders we caught the science lab on fire and the fire was like, blue but also green."

"What color was the smoke?"

"Like, purple."

"I never understood how smoke could be different colors."

"Me either... Are you going to tell me how you caught that teachers head on fire?"

"It was an accident really. I didn't exactly mean too. We were doing this lab where we mixed a bunch of random things to see what could and couldn't make good lighter fluid, me and my lab partner decided to see what would happen if we dumped all the chemicals except for the ones we knew wouldn't work onto the thing and then light it on fire. Well, needless to say it exploded and luckily for me and my partner we had leaned away from it because it caught the ceiling on fire in this never ending fiery inferno. It was like a column of fire from the beaker to the ceiling and I don't think it ever would've ended. The teacher ran over to put it out but got too close and his head and his hair caught on fire. There was this huge panic and everyone was screaming while me and my lab partner just sat there trying not to laugh. It was kind of great and horrible all at the same time." She explained and by the end of it I was dying.

"Oh my gosh Macey!" I exclaimed.

"Well after everyone had calmed down and after the fire was put out, my lab partner and I were called down to the headmasters office. He was not very happy. We ended up having to call the fire department and the science teacher needed an ambulance so you can image the mood he was in. We got a stern talking to before being informed that our parents were going to be contacted and we were expelled from the school and banned from the premises. It was great. Done."

We were both laughing as we switched places.

"That was fast." My mom remarked.

"That was fifteen minutes." Macey protested.

"It was almost twenty." I commented.

She looked at us and gave us a sly look. "Come see how pretty Liz looks." She said smiling. We crossed over to where they sat and I gasped.

"Liz...you look gorgeous." I said wide eyed.

"Jonas is going to be all over you!" Macey explained laughing.

"Well, I'm not done yet." My mom said with a wink.

"Can I see what you've done so far?" Liz asked politely.

"Sure." My mom stepped out of way of the way of the mirror and Liz gasped.

She reached up hesitantly to her face. It was so simple, it was genius. She had found a way to emphasis Liz's best points, her big blue eyes looked absolutely stunning and her skin looked pale and perfect. Every feature had been emphasised making it look like she wasn't really wearing makeup.

"Wow...it's like a perfect version of me." She said in awe.

"You're already perfect Liz." I said giving her a small smile.

She grinned at me.

"Okay, you can finish now." Liz said smiling to herself.

"Come on Cam, it's your turn." Macey said pulling me to the chair she had just vacated.

For the next 45 minutes Macey worked on my make up. I don't know exactly what she was doing, she kept switching brushes and wiping things off and putting new things on. She stared so intently at my face for a while I thought she was trying to see through it. About ten minutes after I started, Bex began getting her makeup done and she finished getting it on before me. As the last one getting their makeup done, they all crowded around me.

"Wow Macey it looks great." Bex said as she walked into my view.

"Bex you look fabulous!" I exclaimed.

"Don't move." Macey instructed.

"You look twenty times better Cam I promise.

"Okay Cam, as soon as I'm done with your lips, I'll let you see." Macey said as an incentive to hold still.

"Are you almost done at least?" I asked, really getting fidgety.

"Yeah, lips are the last thing." She said picking up a lip liner and a lipstick.

I sat there with my hands squished in between my thighs, seriously getting impatient. As Macey leaned closer to my lips, Bex and Liz leaned in close with here. I made eye contact with Liz and Bex and tried very hard not to laugh. Bex grinned widely and Liz giggled.

"Don't make her laugh." Macey said.

Bex and Liz looked suitably chastened. Not.

"Hey Liz did I ever tell you my pie shop joke?" Bex asked.

"No, I don't believe you did."

"Bex." Macey said warning her. "I've been working on Cam for almost an hour, if you ruin it now-" Bex cut her off.

"Cam won't even think it's funny. Okay Liz, so a grasshopper walks into a pie shop and the owner of the pie shop comes out and says 'Wow, a grasshopper' he then walks up the grasshopper and says 'This is such an honor sir, you know we have a pie named after you'. The grasshopper is so touched he grins widely and says excitedly '_You_ have a _pie_ named _Kenneth_?!'" She finished with flare.

Liz burst into laughter and I fought the urge to laugh along with her.

"Hold on Cam, just a few more minutes." Macey said pleadingly. "I'm almost done, I know you want to be done just as much as I do."

I am proud to say that I didn't laugh, it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but I did it. Finally another two minutes later, Macey told me to rub my lips together one final time and I was finally free to see what had taken so long.

"Okay, you ready to see your makeup Cam?" Macey asked smiling.

Bex and Liz and my mom grinned at me. "So beyond ready." I replied running a hand through my hair.

"Okay." Macey stepped to the side and I looked into the mirror.

I didn't even realize that it was me for a minute. I mean, I still looked like me...but a better me. Macey was a wiz with makeup. My eyelids were covered in a smokey eye fashion but not as dark and whatever it was made my blue eyes pop. My skin looked flawless, my cheeks looked naturally rosy and my lips were a perfect pink. It looked incredibly natural...yet insanely fancy all at once. I don't know how she managed to do it.

"Wow...Mace I look incredible. Thank you!" I jumped up to hug here. "I never expected to be beautiful."

"Cam, you're gorgeous, especially without makeup." Bex said joining our hug.

"Get in here Liz." I said calling our short friend to join us.

After we broke apart, I turned to Macey. "Okay, what's next." I asked.

"Now, it's time for hair." Macey said gesturing to the curling irons and hair straighteners.

First we all applied heat protection, oil, and gel to our hair. After that Macey and Liz blow dried their hair then moved into the bathroom to straighten their hair while Bex and I dried our hair. Now, Macey and Liz both have naturally straight hair so by the time me and Bex were done drying our incredibly thick hair, they were ready to curl our hair. Bex sat in her chair by Macey who was going to give her what I can only describe as loose ringlets. My mom and Liz were going to curl my hair into princess curls that would hang down my back. We estimated that we would be done with hair by 5:45, enough time to change and take pictures.

My mom let Liz start out with the curling irons, I didn't know how well this would work out, but Liz actually has a very light touch and knew her way around the wand. As they worked on my hair, my mom would offer tips or point out strands that could easily be missed, but it was honestly mostly Liz doing my hair. Liz has braided my hair before but she hasn't done anything this intense on my hair, like, ever and I was a little nervous. About an hour and fifteen minutes of singing loudly and off pitch with the music playing on Macey's iPod, Bex's hair was curled and we were waiting for Liz to finish with mine. I was anxious to see how my hair looked, because I was facing away from the mirror and all the reflective objects in the room were at the wrong angle for me to see.

"Okay, I'm going to go and check on the boys to see how they're doing. Don't let her see her hair until I get back." My mom said after glancing at her phone.

"You got it." Macey said from where she sat (on the floor in front of me).

"And don't give her the phone either she'll just use it to-"

"We know Mrs. Morgan." Bex said with a smile from where she lounged (on the chair that she had pulled next to mine).

"I'll be done in about five minutes." Liz said as she picked up another piece of hair.

"Okay, I'll try to hurry." My mom said before turning and leaving.

"It's burning in here!" I exclaimed. The curling irons and straighteners had been on for over an hour, and Florida's hot weather wasn't helping.

"I'll text your mom and ask her to turn on the AC." Bex said pulling my phone from the pocket on her button up shirt. "Oh, you have a text from Zach." Bex said.

"What does it say?" I asked.

"'I can't believe you guys stole our pillows.'" She read in a deep voice, trying to imitate Zach.

"Text back...'You have no proof that we did.'" I instructed and she did.

"Has anyone actually been checking their phone?" Liz asked.

"I haven't been." I said.

"I haven't either." Bex replied.

"I have, but mostly because I've almost got Preston to spill on what their plans are." Macey said. "But I haven't replied in a while, in a couple hours actually."

"He said 'Oh, so if I go into your room right now I won't see our pillows.'" Bex read off.

"Tell him I'll kick him if he enters without permission." Macey said.

"That would be fun to see." I said.

"Here, let me reply." Macey said grabbing my phone. Bex got down on the floor next to her to see what she said.

"I have a feeling that I'm going to regret giving them my phone." I said.

"You didn't give it to us, we took it." Bex said.

"Aw." Macey said disappointedly.

"What?" I asked.

"He knew it was me." She complained.

"How dare he!" I said in a mock scandalized voice before laughing.

"Okay, I'm back." My mom said as she entered the room, looking slightly out of breath.

"Wow, that was really fast." I remarked.

"How are the boys doing?" Macey asked.

"They're good. They're now getting ready to go. Everything is set up as far as I can tell."

"Solomon?" Bex asked with an amused smile on her face.

"He looks ready to murder them all. He wants to come see you girls before you go." She replied.

"Oh wow...they can be a handful." I said referencing the four teenage boys Solomon had been stuck with for the past few hours.

"He told me to remind him to never accept a job at Blackthorne." She confided and we all laughed.

"Okay Cam, your hair's done." Liz said stepping away from the chair.

"So I can look?" I clarified.

"You can look." Macey said.

I whirled around to see my hair in the mirror. It turns out Liz did more than curl, my hair had a beautiful french braid from my left temple that went around my head in a crown that emphasised the curls. The curls themselves looked like something out of a million dollar movie. They looked and felt soft and fell loosely, but not too loose, all down my back and over my shoulders. Paired with the makeup, I looked like a fairy tale princess.

"Wow, Liz…Thank you so much! It's perfect! Where did you learn to do this?" I asked.

She laughed a little. "I have three sisters Cam, this is what we do in our spare time!" She exclaimed.

"Macey I want Liz to do my hair now." I said turning to look at my two friends on the floor.

"I think I want Liz to do my hair too." Macey said reaching out to touch the gentle curls.

"Liz can do all of our hair later, we've got to get dressed." Bex said pulling herself to her feet as we crossed to the finishing room.

We all walked carefully around the chairs and our mess towards the room with all of our clothing. We all moved to take our dresses off the hangers, but my mom stopped us.

"Hold up your dresses and just look at them for a second, I want to take a picture." She asked us. We exchanged looks but did as she asked.

"Okay, great, now Cam and Bex you two take three steps back. Right there. Everyone looking at your dresses. Macey a little higher. Great. I got the picture, you're free to change." She instructed.

"Have you been taking pictures this whole time?" I asked as I undid my button up shirt.

"Maybe." She said mysteriously.

"Oh she definitely has. I officially need help getting into my dress." Bex said.

"Me too." I admitted looking at the huge pink ruffly mass of gorgeous.

"Come help me, then I'll help you." Bex said, that's what we had done in the store.

"Awesome." I carefully hung my dress back up and moved to help Bex.

I held open the top of the long red dress for her to step into. She carefully into the hole before we pulled the dress up around her torso. I did up the zipper and the buttons and helped arrange the layers of skirt.

"You want to know what I just realized?" Bex asked.

"What?" I replied.

"There's no way I'm going to be able to help you in this thing." Bex said helplessly gesturing to her dress.

"I'll help you Cam." Macey said as she shrugged her blazer on and arranged her hair.

"I can help do up the laces too." Liz said as she arranged her shawl-like-shrug over her adorable white dress.

"Awesome." I said as we pulled the dress off the hanger.

Macey held open the top of the dress as I stepped into the long pink gown.

"Let's double check to make sure the bra is secure." Liz said. We giggled as she tugged it to make sure it was secure. "Okay, we're good." She said and we laughed a little more.

Macey held the flap of fabric that went behind the laces in place as Liz pulled the ribbon through the holes and pulled them tight. I thought I saw my mom catch another picture.

"Wow, Cam that looks really good on you." Bex remarked.

"It shows off your curves really well." Macey agreed.

"I love how Bex's dress looks honestly." I said gesturing to my insanely gorgeous friend.

"So do I, the red sets off her eyes and she looks like something out of a story." Liz agreed.

"You all look gorgeous." My mom remarked.

"Yeah we do!" Bex yelled.

"I'm going to go get Solomon, he'll want to see this." My mom said. "Don't move. Actually, I changed my mind I'm just going to call him." She decided pulling out her phone.

We looked at each other and Bex mouthed 'Speed dial' and we all giggled. My mom shot us a look but didn't say anything.

"They're ready." Is all she said when he answered and seconds later she hung up.

"That was the shortest phone call I've ever heard." I remarked.

"That was all that needed to be said." She remarked as she crossed to the door.

We heard a knock just as she moved to open it. Macey mouthed 'Love' and we laughed again as Mr. Solomon came in.

"Wow." He said, eye's wide as he entered the room and saw us.

"We aren't quite finished yet." I said as he eye our dresses.

"You girls look lovely." He said finally.

"Thank you Mr. Solomon." We replied in unison.

"The boys are going to...Maybe we shouldn't let them go." He said turning to my mom. She just rolled her eyes.

"Of course they're going, they're smart responsible girls and I trust them completely. You should too." She explained as we stared at them. He nodded eventually.

"Just remember my training girls, I don't trust them not to do something stupid." He said shaking his head.

"Have you had a rough day with them Solomon?" Liz asked teasingly.

He gave us the look of a man who had died inside. "You have no idea. What you girls see in them, I'll never know. You deserve better." We laughed.

"Thanks Solomon, but we'll stick with the four that are crazy enough to think they can handle us." Macey said with a laugh. "Now, Cam was right, we aren't finished."

"What could possibly be left?" Liz asked, baffled.

I looked at her, slightly dead inside myself. "Accessories." I said seriously.

She let out a small whine.

I grabbed her hand and together we walked towards the jewelry boxes. It actually ended up being much better than I expected. Macey quickly handed me some diamond stud earrings as well as my matching ring, and a diamond looking necklace. Considering the fact that both earrings and necklace were Maceys, I didn't doubt they were real. Bex got a gold chain that had a small charm at the bottom of the necklace that I couldn't quite make out. She also got a gold charm bracelet, and although her theme was gold she slipped on her matching ring anyway. Liz simply wore her matching ring and one of my charm bracelets. Macey slipped in some red dangly earrings and put on her matching ring. After we had all of our accessories on we were ready. Well, we hadn't put our shoes on yet but that's beside the point.

We turned to look at Solomon and my mom.

"So, what do you think?" Liz asked.

"It makes me wish Gallagher had a prom." My mom said teary eyed.

"It makes me glad Gallagher doesn't have a prom." Solomon said. "You ladies look beautiful."

"Thank you." We all replied with varied degrees of enthusiasm.

"Well, I think we're practically ready." I said surveying my friends.

"I'm in charge of bringing you ladies down one at a time and Jonas will be expecting Liz any minute now." Solomon informed us.

"Put your shoes on and let me take a picture." My mom said grabbing her phone. We all quickly put on our shoes then wrapped our arms around each other and smiled for the camera.

"Okay Lizzie." Bex said turning to look at her. "If you need anything at all, if there's any kind of emergency just let us know and we'll come for you."

Liz nodded and I took over. "You have your phone and emergency money right?" She nodded. "Good, good. You're going to have a ton of fun tonight! We'll see you when you get back!" I said wrapping her in a hug and smiling at her. "Don't do anything we would do."

"Don't you mean 'Don't do anything we wouldn't do'?" Macey asked smiling.

"Well, I would but there isn't much we collectively wouldn't do and we can't have that." I said with a grin and we all laughed.

"Here," Macey said spraying us all with that fabulous scent we had bought at the boutique what seemed like ages ago. "Now we all match." She said quoting Bex's earlier remark from days ago.

"You guys be careful tonight." Liz said as she looked at us each in turn. "Especially you, Cammie." We all laughed again.

"Alright we will, we will, now go have the time of your life!" I said pushing her towards the door.

"Bye Liz!"

"Don't do anything stupid."

"Like that's possible, have fun!"

We all called to her as she walked down the steps with Solomon. It had begun.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I'm sorry the last chapter was just them getting ready, it was a necessary evil. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it! Sometimes I look at other people's stories (To check out my competition(; ) and they have like 100 reviews and 40 chapters but they have less than half my word count and I'm like "What?!" But then I remember they have more chapters(: **

Chapter 20

As the door slowly shut behind Liz, we all let out a breath none of us knew we were holding in. I glanced at Macey and smiled slowly.

"Grab the laptop." I said. Yes, we had bugged Liz to see Jonas' reaction. No, she did not know about the bug, and no we did not feel bad about it.

"Ten steps ahead of you." Bex said as she grabbed the laptop from behind one of the mirrors we had set up earlier.

She already had the bug pulled up, camera and sound both working. We had grabbed the laptop just in time to see Liz begin descending the stairs.

"Nice, Bex." I commented.

"Thank you." She replied as we huddled around the screen.

"Oh you girls…" My mom said but she too huddled with us around the screen.

"Shh." I said as the boys came into view.

They're faces were the best part, I'm not going to lie. Jonas went bright red and had the biggest smile on his face simultaneously. Grant and Zach looked like their eyes were going to pop out of their head. Preston sat there with a self satisfied smile on his face. He looked proud for his friend.

"Get a picture of Jonas' face!" Macey said scrambling to take a screenshot.

"Wow...Liz." Jonas said as she walked nearer to him. I could picture Liz's face and it was just as red as his.

"You look incredible Liz." Preston said.

"Yeah, you really do." Grant said.

"I'm speechless." Zach added.

Liz giggled. "You should see Mace, Bex, and Cam. They're going to knock your socks off."

They smiled. "You really look great Liz." Jonas said. "Not that you don't look good normally, it's just that-" Liz cut him off.

"I know what you mean, thanks." She said graciously accepting the compliment.

"I'm going to get a picture before they leave." My mom whispered and she ran out the door.

"Ms. Sutton," Jonas said formally on screen, presenting her with a pink rose. "It would be my honor to escort you this evening."

"Why thank you good sir, I would love to accompany you." She said just as formally.

"Let me get a picture and then you two can leave." My mom said through the bug.

Liz moved to stand by Jonas and we saw my mom grinning at the two of them as she took a picture. Liz let out a small squeak and we screamed at the screen.

"WHAT?! WHAT DID HE DO!?" Bex yelled.

"DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT JUST HAPPENED?" Macey yelled even louder.

And I just let out a high pitched "SQUUEEEEEE!" Of indignation at the lack of information.

It took us all of two seconds to realize that they heard us downstairs when everyone turned to look at the steps.

Liz let out a gasp. "Did they bug me?" Liz asked as she turned to look at my mom. My mom laughed a little and nodded. Liz gasped again. "CAMMIE!" She yelled up the stairs as she fumbled looking for the bug. I could hear the boys chuckle

"Why is she blaming me?" I asked innocently.

"Let's ask her." Macey said crossing to the door, she opened it slightly and yelled down to Liz, "WHY ARE YOU BLAMING CAMMIE?"

We heard Macey through the computer and as she yelled about eight feet from us. It was trippy.

Liz sighed before replying. "CAN YOU HONESTLY TELL ME IT WASN'T AT LEAST HALF HER IDEA?" We all looked at each other. She wasn't wrong, Macey yelled a reply.

"IT DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU MEAN BY 'HONESTLY'" She yelled back. The boys laughed again.

"THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT." Liz yelled once more. "I don't know why I'm yelling they can probably hear me through the-found it!" She said victoriously plucking the bug off of her necklace.

"I don't know why she didn't look there first, that's where we always put them." Bex murmured.

"Seriously." I agreed.

Liz held the bug up to eye level and looked at 'us' through the bug. "Well, I'll see you guys later." She said smiling, not even slightly mad. "Bye!" She said making a kissy face at the camera (we hurried to snap a picture of her face) before dropping it to the ground and driving the heel of her shoe into it.

"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO BREAK IT!" Bex yelled down the stairs.

"SORRY!" Liz yelled back.

"Well, we have another half hour until I leave." Macey said with a sigh. "What should we do?"

"We could do hair and makeup checks." Bex suggested.

"I think they're fine." Macey said. "We could figure out how you two are going to sit in those monster dresses without ruining the look."

"Boring." I said. "We could text bomb Liz while trying to figure out how to sit in these huge dresses." I said.

"Well that could be interesting." Bex said.

"Let's do it." Macey said reaching under her skirt and grabbing her phone.

"Should we practice on chairs or just the ground?" I asked as I attempted to get my phone.

"Both." Bex said in the same position as I.

Macey went to get the chairs from the bathroom while Bex and I got our phones out. Eventually Bex and I got our phones out from the pockets under our dresses and Macey entered the room with the chairs wiped of any make up that may have spilled.

"Okay, Cam you can't smash the ruffles on your dress and Bex, you're going to have a heck of a time maneuvering the train. For you Cam, I would suggest sitting lightly on the edge of your seat and Bex, pull your train slightly to the side to make sure it doesn't bunch up and it should be fine. What are you guys saying to Liz?" Macey instructed us as she typed madly on her phone.

"I'm sending information about each element on the Periodic table, one at a time." I said as my fingers flew.

"I'm going over the differences in American and British phrases." Bex said as she stood up and sat down several times.

"What about you Mace?" I asked.

"Going over the very interesting world of politics, one word per text." She said and laughed a little.

"She's going to hate us." I said laughing a little.

"Jonas is going to think he's doing something wrong and panic." Macey said laughing.

Bex cackled in delight. "I've started listing every Queen of England in order, as well as their families this may take a while."

For the next twenty minutes we all typed out our information as fast as we could, making a nuisance of ourselves, but eventually we ran out of information. I ran out first, Macey next, and Bex last. After we had finished making a nuisance of ourselves to our best friend, we decided to try sitting on the floor in our huge dresses.

"I feel like I should record this." Macey said as she watched Bex and I arrange our dresses where we stood.

"I feel like you shouldn't." Bex said glaring at Macey. Macey held up her hands in surrender and Bex and I made eye contact. "On three...one...two...three." We lowered ourselves gently to the ground.

Now in princess movies, when they're wearing big dresses and they easily plop into chairs or sit on the ground, they must have had years of training, because it is not easy. Not at all. Bex's dress was so puffy that she had to push her skirts out of her face and I had to arrange my dress in a circle around me so I didn't squish the ruffles. Finally, we managed to get ourselves in a comfortable position with our dresses looking pretty and of course we managed to do this just as my mom and Solomon appeared to take Macey down.

"Well don't you girls just look lovely." My mom said snapping a picture of me and Bex with our dresses arranged prettily around us.

"Alright Ms. McHenry, it's your turn." Solomon turning to Macey offering her his arm.

"Alright, I guess I need to go. Stand up and give me a hug." She ordered Bex and I.

We grabbed each others arms and used each other to balance ourselves and to pull ourselves into an upright standing position. We crossed over to our stunning friend and we wrapped ourselves in a group hug. We held each other close for a minute, for no better reason than that the hug was comfortable and warm. It was a good hug. Finally Macey drew away slowly and we smiled at each other.

"Is my bug on and ready to go?" She asked as she adjusted the earring that held the device.

We laughed and nodded glancing at the computer to be sure. We had turned it on a while ago.

"You ready to spend the night with Preston?" I asked smiling.

She smiled back. "I think so." She said looking semi-unsure.

"You're so beautiful, Mace. You're going to have so much fun." Bex said.

"You guys are too. Be ready for an interrogation tonight when we all get back." Macey said.

"Yes ma'am." Bex and I said together.

We smiled at each other once more and Macey grabbed Solomon's arm and he lead her to the door.

"Try to stay out of trouble Cam!" Macey called over her shoulder.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" I called after her as the door shut behind them. She laughed as she came into view of the boys around the corner and Bex and I ran to the computer.

Preston's reaction was kind of precious. He grinned his huge, all american boy smile, and ran a hand over his mouth as he tried to hold back a laugh. Bex hurried to take a picture of the screen before he moved. She caught him in the perfect moment, he had turned the side a little, his hand was over his mouth a little but not enough to hide his smile and his eyes sparkled.

"We need to print that out for Macey." Bex said.

"Yeah, it would look really good in black and white." I agreed.

"Let's edit it before we go." Bex said as the boys began to talk.

"Wow, McHenry you clean up nice." Grant said and Zach slapped his head.

"You look really great Macey." Zach said kindly.

"Thanks Zach, but wait until you two see Cammie and Bex. They're way out of your league." Macey said with a smile. Well, I couldn't actually see her smile, but I knew she was grinning.

"Wow...Mace...you look really...breathtaking." Preston said running his eyes over Macey several times, but always returning to her face like a gentleman.

"Thank you." She said generously. Preston held out a small white rose.

"For you, my lady." He said with a grin.

"Wow I wonder what color our roses are going to be." Bex said.

"Five bucks says yours is red." I said without a doubt in my mind.

"I would take that bet but I agree with you." Bex said. "Why do people keep giving me red things?" She asked.

"Because red suits you." I said truthfully.

"You think so?" She asked doubtfully.

"I know so, it screams Bex and cries for mercy." I said with a smile.

"Yeah you're right," Bex said giggling. "I guess it makes sense because it's my favorite color too."

I laughed a little. "I think she's going to take it off soon." I said pointing to the screen. They had exited the house and were walking down the street, chatting, holding hands.

"Oh, hold on a second." Macey said reaching for the bug. "Okay guys, see you in a few hours, have fun tonight! I warned the boys not to lay a finger where they shouldn't but I don't know if they took me seriously so keep your guard up. Love you girlies." She made the same kissy face as Liz and we hurried to take a picture. "Hope you guys got that!" She said before turning the bug off.

"Well...another half hour and it's our turn. How are we going to get pictures of the guys faces? I feel like we should take a picture of us making kissy faces as well." Bex said.

"We could set it to record on our bugs for like five minutes and then take screenshots of the footage." I suggested.

"Genius Cam, genius." Bex said as we hurried to set the bugs and laptop.

"Okay well that didn't take half as long as I thought it would." I said when we finished a few minutes later.

"Edit that picture for Macey? We can do one for Liz too." Bex suggested.

"Brilliant idea old chap." I said in a terrible british accent and we hopped to it.

Way too quickly, we had finished with that and we were sitting, just waiting.

"Are you just as nervous as I am?" I asked.

"More."

"No way. I can't believe Macey and Liz were so calm about it." I said.

"I know. Last minute touch ups?" Bex suggested and I readily agreed. Anything to get my mind off the fact that it was our turn to go in just fifteen minutes.

We both checked and rechecked our ensembles several times to find only three minutes had passed. We went over the bugs and the recording system and the backup recording system. Another two minutes had passed. We reorganized the bathroom as much as we dared in our dresses and played cat's cradle with a piece of yarn that Bex found. Three minutes. Seven to go. We set up comfortable pajamas for all of us to change into when we got back and made sure everything was ready for after our activities because we didn't know how late it was going to be. Only three minutes to do that. Four to go.

"I should really stop counting down." I told Bex.

"Me too, but I can't just turn off my internal clock." She complained.

"Me either." I whined. "Do you think the guys are nervous?" I asked.

"Oh they better be."

"Why did the time seem to go so much faster with Macey here?" I asked.

"No idea. I wish I knew. Do you think we'll be able to fight in these dresses?" She asked me.

"I assume that's half the point of the shorts. Are you expecting a fight?"

"No, but it's good to be prepared for anything."

"True. I feel like pacing."

"Me too." She admitted.

"Don't you dare, if you do, I will."

"I'll hold strong for you Cam."

"Thanks Bex."

"Okay, are you girls ready to go?" My mom and Solomon appeared two minutes til seven.

"Yes." We replied in unison, a calm facade falling over both of us.

"Good, oh you girls are going to have so much fun. You've probably guessed this, but you're going to the same place together." My mom said as she pulled out her phone.

"Ladies," Solomon said gesturing to the open door.

"Hit record Bex, let's do this." I said holding my head high.

Bex did as asked, and we linked arms and left the room. The walk from the room down the hall to the stairs was agony, it felt like it took ten minutes although ten seconds was the reality.

The hall opened to the staircase where Grant and Zach sat waiting at the bottom. They looked dapper in matching black suits and shiny black shoes. Grant saw Bex and his hands flew to his face, but I was more focused on Zach. As we turned the corner, the two of us made eye contact and he grinned. His hand twitched to his face and he tried to cover it by rubbing his nose but I could've sworn his cheeks colored. His eyes got this almost squinty look to them as he smiled wider than I've ever seen him smile before which caused me to grin. Bex and I descended the stairs in unison, never faltering a step. She squeezed my arms when she saw Grant and I squeezed back just as hard.

We reached the bottom step and no one had yet to say a word. Grant broke the silence.

"Bex...you look...wow." Grant said, not able to tear his eyes from her.

"Thanks. I think." Bex said with a small laugh.

Zach just mouthed my name, and it made me blush harder than any compliment he could've given.

I laughed a light tinkling laugh, and I don't think I've ever made that sound before.

"Cam, you look...stunning." Zach said trying to hide his smile and failing miserably.

Grant pulled Bex away from my arm and she let me go reluctantly. They crossed to the other side of the room and I moved in closer to Zach.

"You don't look so bad yourself." I said running a finger down his lapel.

He laughed and grabbed my hand.

"I'm going to kiss you now Cam." He said pulling me close and tilting my head up to touch his lips to mine.

It was sweet and only lasted a few seconds but it was better than I could have hoped.

"Alright you guys, you've got to get going soon. Let me take a picture, and then you can go." My mom said gesturing for us to get close together.

Zach wrapped an arm around my waist and I leaned my head on his shoulder, my arms wrapped loosely around his torso, holding him close to me. My mom began to count down from the picture and I didn't even think to smile, it just happened.

"Okay, just couples now, Zach and Cam first." My mom instructed and Grant and Bex stepped away. She began to count down once more and at the last second I reached my head up and planted my lips on the underside of his jaw.

"Cammie." My mom said faux annoyed. "A real picture now, no monkey business."

"Yes ma'am." I said readjusting myself in Zachs arms. She began to count down for what was hopefully the final time.

I had twisted myself so my back was leaned up against Zach's chest, hopefully discouraging any 'monkey business' but it didn't work as well as I hoped. Just before my mom took the picture Zach pressed his lips to my neck, half buried in my hair and I had looked at him with just my eyes, not moving my head as he did. I'm sure that made an interesting picture.

My mom just sighed. "Alright you two I'm serious this time, I want at least one nice picture and I will keep you here all night if I need too. Once more." She counted down one last time and this time we managed to get a nice picture. I may have glanced at Zach with my eyes once more, but I don't think I got it in the picture.

"Okay great, Bex and Grant now." She moved on to my best friend and we stepped out of the way. They got their picture in just one photo and we moved on our merry way.

We waved goodbye to Solomon and my mom and the boys led us to the doorway.

"Wait here, for just a second." They asked before disappearing through the front door.

"Let's do it now Bex." I said reaching for my bug.

"Good idea." She said and pulled off hers as well. We made kissy faces together in the same frame, and then once more on our own. We made our kissy faces a little different though, we decided to blow kisses instead of just making the face. At the last second, I decided to wink at the camera as I blew my kiss. I thought it might be a nice touch.

Seconds after we had turned the bugs off and tucked them away, the boys came back, grins on their faces.

"You girls ready to go?" Grant asked. We looked at each other and nodded. We were on our way.

The boys lead us from the front porch to the van in the front yard.

"We lobbied for a better car, but we lost the draw." Grant explained as we crossed to the car.

"But don't worry, we spent a good chunk of the day making it more comfortable to ride in." Zach said with a grin. I made 'what the heck do they mean?' eye contact with Bex. She gave me a look that was the equivalent to a shrug.

They lead us to the door on the passenger side of the van and Zach pulled the door open with a subtle flare and a satisfied grin. Bex and I gasped as we saw what they had done. It was incredible, they had somehow take the seats out and rearranged them so they lay flat against the side of the cars so there was a big open space in the middle like in the Gallagher limos. There were new seat covers on the long benches and pillow spread out sporadically.

"This is…" I began.

"...So cool." Bex finished for me.

"How on earth did you manage to do this?" I asked baffled.

"Turns out Solomon is quite the mechanic." Grant explained.

"The hardest part was arranging the seat belts. And it wasn't even that hard." Zach explained as he helped me into the van.

Grant helped Bex into the back but kept talking. "Now, as much as we would love to sit back here with you ladies, someone has to drive and the only way to make it fair is to have the two of us sit up front. That way the person driving doesn't feel left out." He explained as they showed us where the seat belts were.

"Grant doesn't know how to get where we're going and is too prideful to admit it. He wouldn't let me drive." Zach whispered in my ear and I giggled. Zach straightened again and Grant slapped the back of his head. They were both grinning as they stepped out of the back and shut the door.

"What did he say?" Bex asked quickly.

"Grant might get lost and he wouldn't let Zach drive." I summarized and we tried to hold back a laugh as they got back into the car.

I managed to regain my composure first. "So, where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see." Zach answered mysteriously. I looked at Bex.

"Or, you could just tell us." Bex suggested.

"Where's the fun in that?" Grant asked.

"Oh believe us, it's much more fun that way." I said smiling.

"I don't believe you." Zach replied looking back at me and grinning.

Grant pulled onto a familiar street. He was taking us in the same direction as the city we were at yesterday was.

"Well what are we doing?" Bex tried again.

"Something fun." Grant said.

"Fun for you guys or fun for us?" I asked.

"Fun for everyone." Zach replied.

"Then why isn't everyone coming?" Bex asked.

"They were originally but then Macey kissed Preston and he decided he wanted to take her somewhere they could make out all night." Grant replied.

"He's got another thing coming if he thinks that's going to fly with Macey." I said grinning at Bex. "What about Liz and Jonas?"

"They're doing something that should be normal but I have a feeling they're going to turn it into something nerdy." Zach replied.

"I don't think even Jonas could turn that into something nerdy." Grant said disbelieving.

"Oh he definitely could." Zach argued.

"Oh come on, they're going to a _drive in_-" Zach punched his arm and Grant stopped talking but he had said enough.

"So Liz and Jonas are going to a drive in movie?" Bex said grinning at their slip up.

"Nice going Grant." Zach said.

"Oh they would've found out eventually, besides they're already there." Grant replied.

"And just how do you know they're already there?" I asked suspiciously.

"We memorized the route time for Preston and Jonas." Zach answered just a little too quickly.

"You bugged him didn't you?" I asked once more.

"You have no proof of that." He defended.

"You have no proof we stole your pillows." Bex jumped in.

"I know you guys stole our pillows. Where else would they have gone?" Grant said.

"Maybe Preston took them." I suggested innocently.

"Why would Preston steal his own pillow?" Zach questioned.

"Maybe he hid his as well to make it seem less suspicious." Bex suggested.

"I've gotta admit it's possible." Grant said. "It wouldn't be the first time he's pulled something like this."

I looked at Bex and subtly raised my eyebrows in surprise. Who'd have guessed?

"What has he stolen your toothbrushes or something?" Bex asked curiously.

"He tried to hide our shoes when he first go there. The idiot hid them under the bathroom cupboard." Zach said with a laugh.

"Oh man did he regret that the next day." Grant said laughing with him.

"Did you guys ever do something like that to Macey?" Zach asked once they had calmed down.

I glanced at Bex and stifled a laugh. "Well we haven't done anything like that to _Macey." _I said carefully emphasizing Macey's name.

"Have you done something like that to someone else? Say...Bex?" Zach asked, catching my drift.

"Well actually now that you mention it, we have done something like that to Bex." I said eyeing Bex carefully.

"Go ahead, tell them. It was like five years ago." Bex said nodding, although she still sounded a little stiff about it.

I turned in my seat a little so I was turned more towards Zach and Grant. "Okay, so here's the story, it was our first year at Gallagher and Bex was doing really well in our P&amp;E classes and little Lizzie doesn't handle being second best very well."

"She handles it horribly." Bex put in slightly bitter.

"So after like a month and a half of Bex being better than her in P&amp;E, Liz finally decides to do something about it. Her little genius brain starts working on the problem and the first solution that comes to mind is to just get rid of Bex entirely."

"Keep in mind that this is the solution against one of her _best friends_." Bex added.

"Right, so Liz can't kill her without there being this huge mess so she comes up with this plan to get Bex expelled, it probably would've worked too but her one mistake was asking me to help and telling me it was just a prank. Now we start out this really elaborate prank involving almost every article of Bex's clothing and this girl who is in a grade above ours. We set the prank in motion and Bex freaks out and starts whaling on this girl older than she is and the hilarious part is, she's actually winning in this fight with a girl that has more training" Grant and Zach started laughing at the image of an eleven year old Bex beating up someone quite older than she was. "This goes of for like five minutes before the teachers figure out that it was more than a sparring match, the one girl gets sent to the infirmary and Bex-" Bex cut me off.

"Bex got twenty points extra credit in P&amp;E." Bex informed with a self satisfied smile. "Liz was not very happy that her plan backfired and well, let's just say all's well that ends well."

I giggled at Bex's version of the events. Bex did get the extra credit, but she also got a month of kitchen work. Liz eventually blew up at Bex one day in our dorm and we talked it out and she got over it, but that was definitely not the last of Liz's attempts to be the best in our P&amp;E class.

Eventually we all calmed down although Grant and Zach did burst into chuckles at random moments.

"Grant you missed our turn." Zach said a few minutes later pointing to a seemingly random road on the right.

"Not a problem." Grant said jerking the wheel as we spun into a wild u-turn right then and there.

Bex and I reached for each others arms and yelled "Grant!"

He straightened the car and replied with a simple "Yeah?"

"You are so lucky there weren't any other cars on the road." I said as I pulled a stray piece of hair from where it had flown and I returned it to it's place.

"Oh pish-posh I know how to drive." He said as he made a wild left turn.

"Oh, yeah." Bex said sarcastically.

"Even Bex can drive better than you can." I said.

"I agree." Bex said as we clung to each others arms.

"Look, we're almost there." Zach said pointing to a brightly lit Manor in the distance, even from here I could tell it was huge.

Bex and I undid our seat belts and moved up closer to where they sat, so we could see out of the front window better. I rested a hand on Zachs arm as I leaned forward to see out the window.

"You guys sure that this is a good idea?" Zach asked, gesturing to our lack of seat belts.

"Nope." I said.

"It's probably not." Bex said. "But we want to see where we're going to be spending our evening."

"What is this place?" I asked.

"Well, technically it's used as a reception hall, but it can be used for any kind of party." Zach explained.

"And what kind of party is going on there tonight?" Bex asked.

"I guess you'll just have to wait and find out." Grant said. "What _was_ this place?" Bex asked.

"It was a manor built by this really old rich British immigrant. He wanted a replica of his childhood home. When he died, his family turned it into a rent-a-mansion kind of place." Zach explained. Bex and I looked at each other and backed away.

We sat on the floor of the car with our skirts spread around us, like we had back at the house in our room.

"Psst. Cam." Bex said as she gained my attention. I turned to look at her and watched as she pulled the yarn from earlier out of the bodice of her dress. She mouthed 'Don't tell Macey.' and set up a round of cat's cradle.

We sat playing with the yarn for a while until Zach glanced back to see what had us so quiet. He glanced once at what we were doing then turned in his seat to get a better look like he couldn't believe his eyes. He nudged Grant who made a noise of recognition.

"Hmm?" Grant mumbled. Zach nudged him again.

"Hmm?" He said louder. Once more, Zach nudged him.

"Freaking HMMM?" Grant practically yelled.

"Dude, look!" Zach replied.

"I'm kind of driving!" Grant replied.

"Ugh, give me the wheel, and look." Zach said reaching over and grabbing the wheel and Grant turned in his seat to look at Bex and I.

Grant's eyes went wide and Bex apparently couldn't hold it in anymore.

"What?! Never seen someone play cat's cradle before?" She asked angrily as I took the yarn from her.

"No, no I have it's just...not what I would have expected from you two. It looks like something out of an old movie. Do people really still play that?"

"Ease off the gas a little." Zach instructed.

"We play it, isn't that enough?" I asked as Bex took the string back carefully.

"Sure, sure…" Grant said as he began to turn back to the wheel with a sweet smile on his face. Grant grabbed the wheel back and Zach stayed turned in his seat to watch us. Well, me.

He kept grinning disbelievingly. Not really in a mean way though, more like a 'This is so cute I will treasure this memory forever' way. He kept doing that thing where he would grin kind of euphorically and turn away for a second and chuckle and touch his nose like he did when we first came downstairs. It was really cute.

I kept glancing at him from the corner of my eye, but mostly I focused on the yarn. With Zach watching us so closely, Bex and I couldn't do our silent talk thing, so we just sat in near silence, until Bex starting humming.

Finally finally, finally, we reached the building and we pulled into the parking lot of the building. They stopped the car in front of the Garden path that, I assume, leads to the front door.

Zach and Grant jumped out of the car and ran to open the door for us.

"Milady," Zach said holding the door open. He held out a hand to help me climb from the car. I handed Bex the yarn and stood up to cover her as she rolled it and stuck it back into the bodice of her dress.

I accepted Zach's hand gratefully as he helped me step down from the van. We quickly stepped out of the way for Grant to help Bex down from the car. As soon as we were all ready and the car was locked, Zach and I linked arms and he began to lead me through a stunning garden with Grant and Bex following a few feet behind us.

The flowers were absolutely gorgeous, there were flowers of every kind, of every color, and there were these really pretty fairy lights that were scattered everywhere emphasising the best parts of the gardens.

When we reached the actual building, Zach held the door open for me then passed it to Grant to hold open for Bex. We entered this grand entry way, with this huge crystal chandelier brightening the whole room. There was a grand staircase leading who knew where and two the left was a gorgeously decorated room, with tables set up with huge ornate center pieces. There was no way the boys planned this all in one day, so I decided to figure out what was really happening there that night.

"So, what event are we interrupting?" I asked.

"We actually aren't interrupting anything, this ended about an hour ago. The owner was gracious enough to leave everything set up for our use. We have it for the rest of the night. There w_as_ a wedding here this afternoon." Zach explained triumphantly.

"Nice…so what are we doing here?" Bex asked, always to the point.

"We are going to see what this place is hiding, maybe play hide and seek or something like it, and then see where that leaves us." Grant explained.

"We actually didn't plan much, we wanted to see what you guys wanted to do first." Zach added.

"That's sweet. How big is this place?" Bex asked curiously.

"Pretty big. I wasn't given an exact square footage but about ¾ the size of Gallagher at most." Zach answered.

Bex and I nodded. "How many rooms?" I asked.

"About thirty. We haven't really checked yet." Grant answered.

"Well, let's go explore." I said grinning at Bex.

"Cammie…" Bex said warningly.

"I haven't done anything yet!" I protested, imagining how long it would take me to slip my shoes off and burst for the stairs.

"No, but you're planning too, I know you and I can see it in your eyes." Bex countered.

"You have no way of knowing that, besides would I leave you guys behind?" I asked and began picturing how long it would take Bex and the boys to catch up.

"You definitely would. Well, you probably wouldn't leave me behind but you'd leave the boys behind." She replied.

"Well, that's something we will never have to figure out." I said grabbing a curl from my right shoulder. I twirled it twice and looked around the room once, starting at the stairs and hoped Bex got the message.

"It better not be." Bex said shaking her head once towards the stairs. She understood.

"Well, where do you guys wanna-" Without any warning I had heeled off both of my shoes off, Bex doing the same. We hiked up our skirts and bolted for the stairs.

The boys sat there in a stunned silence for a seconds before bolting after us, be we already had a head start, and that's all we needed.

We made it to the top of the stairs remarkably fast for our huge skirts. The boys had stumbled in their fancy shoes, which I hadn't expected, but it was a nice surprise. Bex and I ran down the hallway and slammed a few doors as we did, doubling back into a room we had already closed the door on and locked the door.

"Okay, we may have just corned ourselves, what now?" Bex asked.

"A house this old? There's got to be a way to get from room to room even if it's crawling along the window sill." I replied looking around the room. The boys began opening and closing doors, trying to find us.

We glanced around the room and opened quite a few closet doors before finding a panel over an old servants staircase. I grinned at our find and looked at Bex. She looked back at me warily, doubt on her face.

"Grant, this one's locked I think I found them!" Zach called from outside the door.

"Coming!" Grant replied faintly.

"Let's go." Bex said swooping up her skirts and dashing down the stairs. I closed the door and replaced the panel before following her.

"Hurry, I think they got the door open when I left." I said as I caught up to her.

The staircase inevitable lead all over the house, when we reached a crossroads, we picked the way that seemed least dangerous (Bex's insistence). Eventually, we came out in a library behind a secret panel. We quickly dusted off our skirts (We did pretty good at keeping the dust off if I do say so myself) and we crossed the room silently. I had no doubt the boys would catch up to us eventually, so I crossed to the desk and left them a note. 'You said you wanted to play hide and seek, here's your chance' It read.

"Let's let them know it's from us." Bex said picking up the paper.

"I'm pretty sure they're going to know it's from us." I replied, but she pressed her lips to the page anyway, leaving a mark in her lipstick under the message. She handed me the paper and I did the same, reluctantly.

"Be a good sport Cam, it's cute and flirty." Bex said as she placed the paper on the table nearest the hidden door.

"You're really just going to leave it in plain sight like that?" I nodded towards the paper. She shrugged and we moved on.

The next place we went to, was the main hall. We properly looked at the stunning decorations.

"I wonder how they paid for this." I mused to Bex.

"What do you mean?" She asked. "They said the owner was happy to let them use this place."

"They also said it was a 'rent-a-mansion'." I replied.

"Preston probably. Does it ever bother you how little we really know about them?" Bex asked.

"All the time." I replied.

"Thought so, let's keep going." She grabbed my arm and we carefully made our way to the music room, and around the rest of the first floor. The house was stunning.

We hadn't seen or heard anything from the boys when we went up to the third floor, and still hadn't when we made our way back down.

"Okay, this is starting to get weird." Bex commented as we reached the bottom of the grand staircase.

"I know...they've obviously been down here." I said gesturing to our straightened shoes.

"Maybe we should just wait do-" Bex began but she was cut off when the boys barreled from around the corner.

"FOUND YOU!" Grant yelled and sweeped Bex off her feet and spun her around, consequently interrupting her sentence.

Zach slid to a stop a few feet from me and wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my cheek. I grinned and accepted the affection happily.

"I win." Zach whispered in my ear.

"I'm pretty sure we win." I replied. "We evaded you for how long? Forty five minutes?" I said cheekily turning in his arms and wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Ah but that is not how you play hide and go seek." Zach commented while pointing his finger victoriously whilst explaining. "You win hide and go seek when the go seekers find the hiders, henceforth, we win."

"Well than this is a fixed game, there's no way for the hiders to win unless they evade the go seekers, which we did." I replied cheekily.

"It is indeed a fixed game, but it generally works out in my favor." Zach said.

"How's that?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"I'm always the go seeker." He said kissing me lightly before spinning us to face Bex and Grant.

"Well, as fun as that was, let's not do it again." Grant replied as he loosened his tie slightly.

"You guys were the ones that wanted to play." Bex protested.

"I forgot who I was asking to play." Grant replied wincing. "I don't like running and Solomon's morning 'jogs' are more like death marches. Dancing. I like dancing, let's dance." He grabbed Bex's hand and swung her around into a position for a classic waltz.

Zach offered me his arm and we followed our already dancing friends to the dance floor. Zach tapped a panel on the way to the floor and a half pop, half classical sounding song came out over the speakers. He pulled me into the same position as Grant had pulled Bex and we danced.

Blackthorne trained their boys well, we danced classics like waltzes, tangos, salsas, and older dances like jitterbug, charleston, lindy hop, jive, and even some really popular ones like gangnam style and the macarena (which was hilarious, by the way). We foxtrotted, flamenco-ed, mamboed, and reeled, then we took a break for water and began again. Bex and I taught them how to cha-cha, and they taught us how to jazz dance. Bex and I stood there and laughed as they tried to krump and belly dance. The boys tried to laugh but ended up clapping when Bex and I managed to do the worm in our dresses.

We did a very exaggerated, slightly hilarious, version of the minuet and even made up some dances that were combinations of different dances we had done that night. We had danced for a while (a few hours) before we finally collapsed to the ground.

The boys had dropped the jackets ages ago, but we were all sweating.

Grant groaned. "Okay, I changed my mind, I don't like dancing." He ran a hand through his hair. "I think there's ice cream in the freezers. That ought to cool us off." He suggested.

"Who's ice cream is it?" Bex asked.

"Left over from the wedding I would assume." Zach replied climbing to his feet.

"Are we seriously doing this?" Bex questioned as Grant helped her to her feet.

"Absolutely." I replied as I grabbed Zach's hand and let him heave me to my feet.

"Well, okay then." She replied pulling her hair from her neck. I copied the motion, it was seriously hot.

We crossed to the hidden set of stairs that lead to the basement, the one place in the house Bex and I hadn't gotten around to looking at. A huge gourmet kitchen covered the entire basement, the boys lead us to the freezer where a huge tub of ice cream sat waiting. We grabbed four huge spoons and sat around the island stuffing our faces.

"I'm gonna feel really bad if someone was going to eat this ice cream." I said after a while, shoving another bite in my face.

"Eh, don't it's their fault for leaving it so accessible." Grant said, his mouth full, sleeves rolled up.

"I agree with Grant, can you honestly say this isn't cooling you down?" Bex challenged.

"True...we're gonna have to work hard to make up for all the junk we've eaten this summer." I sighed looking at Bex.

She shook her head. "This is nothing compared to two summers ago." She said, reminding me of the summer break we had spent in Nebraska. The same summer break with the spin the bottle game.

"Man, that summer was incredible." I said as I thought back.

Bex laughed. "Can you believe that one kid, with the-" I cut her off.

"The kid with the scar and he-" I laughed, cutting myself off and Bex picked up where I left off.

"I can't believe he actually did it!" Bex said joining me.

"Hey Grant remember that one time our girlfriends seemed to talk without really saying anything?" Zach said rolling his eyes with a smile.

"Oh you mean every time they talk, ever?" Grant replied sarcastically, but he winked.

"Oh, ha ha ha." Bex said. "Don't you guys ever do something like that?"

"I can honestly say I don't think we have." Zach said seriously.

"You've never given each other a look and known exactly what the other person meant?" I questioned as I stuck my spoon into the ice cream and leaving it there.

"Not that I can remember." Grant said.

"You've never said a word and both thought of the same thing." Bex said staring at them.

"Okay, that we have done." Zach replied.

"You've also never said something at the same time or had the same thought?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"Well, we've done that too-" Zach began but Bex cut him off.

"Then you've done the same thing." Bex said leaving no room for argument. She placed her spoon next to mine and leaned on my shoulder. The boys kept digging in the ice cream.

"Maybe we do." Grant said looking at Zach. Zach made eye contact, and they tilted their heads to the right at the same time. Bex and I laughed.

"Okay, you definitely do the same things we do." I said between giggles.

"Alright, alright, I give. We do the same thing." Zach said teasingly.

"Let's go dance some more." Bex said climbing to her feet and stretching.

"Yeah! Do either of you guys know how to swing dance?" I asked following Bex and falling into our familiar stretch routine.

"Ooo, Ooo, I do!" Grant said excitedly. Bex and I took turns helping each other stretch our lower backs.

I looked to Zach. "I don't" He replied, shrugging.

"You wanna dance with me Grant?" I asked as Bex pushed in exactly the right place to get rid of the knot in my back.

He flicked his eyes toward Zach for just a second, I assume to ask permission. Bex and I made eye contact and rolled our eyes, Bex knew I wouldn't ever try anything with Grant. Zach apparently made the affirmative sign, because he agreed.

"Sure, sounds like fun." He replied as he chucked his spoon into the sink.

"Awesome." I replied gently massaging Bex's most sensitive spot, she sighed as the tension was released.

Bex popped her neck a few times before saying "Let's go!" and bolting for the stairs, and I was right behind her.

The guess the boys actually took the time to put the ice cream back, because we made it up the stairs and back into the ballroom long before they did.

"Where did you learn to swing dance, Cam?" Bex asked.

"My grandpa taught me, believe it or not. Well, he tried when I was a kid but I didn't really pick it up until my dad went over it with me. It's one of my favorite types of dance." I replied. "It's not that difficult it just takes a lot of practice. What on earth is taking the boys so long?" I asked.

"Well, I doubt they're doing dishes, but it shouldn't take this long to put ice cream away. Let's go find them." Bex said as she grabbed my arm and pulled me back towards the stairs.

We padded silently across the floor and down the stairs, we heard their voices as we got closer to the bottom. Well, we heard Zach's voice mainly.

"-seriously Grant, don't even think about it." Zach's voice said sternly.

"I'm not going to, but you should think about it. Honestly Zach, you heard what they said. You know you would want the same thing. You did want the same thing, but at least they aren't resorting to breaking into our triple encrypted files."

"Their files were more than triple encrypted and you know that." Zach said. I could practically hear him run a hand through his hair.

I made surprised eye contact with Bex as they continued.

"Oh yeah, I know. I remember how long it took to break into them. Still, they deserve to know and I think Preston and Jonas would agree with me. There's no doubt in my mind that Macey and Liz probably want to know too. Are we going to wait for them to really break into our files and find out what we don't want them to know?" Grant said angrily.

Once again, I looked at Bex. This time I mouthed 'What don't they want us to know?' She nodded in agreement to the question. We kept listening.

"I'll think about it, but it might not be a good idea. It could all end horribly and you know it." Zach argued.

Bex tapped my shoulder. 'It's all fun and games-' She mouthed the beginning and I finished our mantra with her. 'Until someone gets their memories erased.' I grabbed her arm and we ran down the last few steps into the kitchen.

"Or it could all end-Hey girls!" Grant cut his sentence off when he saw us. Zach whirled around and smiled when he saw us.

"What's taking you so long?" I asked with a casual smile.

"Sorry, just doing dishes." Grant replied grabbing spoons. Bex and I rolled our eyes.

"That can wait, come on!" Bex said running forward and grabbing Grant's arm. I copied the motion with Zach, grabbing his hand and entwining our fingers.

We ran up the stairs laughing the whole way, but my mind was buzzing and I didn't doubt that Bex's was too. What they heck were they talking about? What didn't they want us to know? What did Grant want to tell us? This was going to take some thought and I didn't exactly have time for it now, so I filed it away for later.

We reached the ballroom and we began the music once more, Grant and I swing danced and he was actually pretty good. We tried to teach Zach and Bex, but Zach was horrible at it and Bex could only do the basic steps. We gave up pretty quickly. We went back to the dances we had done before and danced for about another hour. It was around midnight when we finally stopped.

Breathing heavily once more, we dropped to the ground and laid on our backs. Bex and I groaned. The boys both pulled off their ties completely and undid the first few buttons on their shirts.

"Okay, now it's time for stage two." Zach said grinning.

"I don't think I can handle stage two." I said as I fanned my hair out behind me.

"Sure you can, stage two is easy." Grant said smiling.

"I don't think so." Bex said shaking her head.

"Well, first part of stage two." Zach began Bex and I groaned again. "Those dresses look horribly uncomfortable, it's about time we got you out of them."

Our eyes shot open as we hurried moved away from the two of them holding up our arms warningly. We knew he probably didn't mean what we first heard, but it never hurt to be careful.

"Whoa there buckaroo." I said as we maintained careful distance.

"Not like that!" Zach and Grant defended quickly.

"What we meant was, you guys should get yourselves out of the dresses and change into something more comfortable." Grant explained carefully.

Bex and I dropped our defensive sitting stance. I dropped back to laying on the floor.

"Come on, you can change up here." Zach said pulling me from the floor and tucked me under his arm. I groaned but followed. The dress really was uncomfortable.

Grant helped Bex to her feet and they quickly came right beside Zach and I, in the same position but Bex was on Grant's left instead of his right. We fell into step as we went up the stairs and Bex and I linked our pinky's.

"Wait, we don't have anything to change into." Bex said as the realization hit her.

"We took care of it." Grant said as we continued up the third floor.

Bex and I made eye contact warily. We made it up to the third floor and the boys opened the door to a large room with lots of mirrors and an extremely large vanity. On the coffee table in front of the couches on the far right, there sat two piles of what looked like comfortable clothing.

"What is this place?" I asked as I eyed the extravagance of the room.

"The bride's dressing room." Zach said. "Hence all the flowers and couches and mirrors and such." He gestured to each thing as he said it.

"There's a bathroom through there, we'll be downstairs so come down when you're ready." Grant said. They pecked us on the cheek and left us to get ready.

"Well isn't this fancy." I said looking around the room. There were four windows, a huge trifold mirror, two couches and two chairs, as well as various vases full of flowers, including a huge bouquet on the fireplace in addition to the vanity, bathroom, and abundance of tables.

"Indeed it is. Let's change, this dress is killing me." Bex said crossing to the coffee table and I followed.

"Oh look, two neatly arranged piles." I said gesturing to two bundles of clothing on the table.

"Well, at least they're labeled." Bex said pulling a card off one of the piles.

I pulled the card off the pile in front of me, it had Bex's name on the front so Bex and I wordlessly switched places. I grabbed the card from her hand that said Cammie and handed her the one with her name on it as we switched. I opened the card and all it had was a winky face. Typical. I set the card to the side and looked at what was in the pile. There was a huge pair of black sweatpants and some socks as well as a dark shirt that obviously belonged to Zach. Actually, I knew all of it belonged to Zach. It smelled like him.

"Oh cute." Bex said as she went through her pile. It contained items similar to mine, except her stuff was all Grants'. "What do you have?" She asked.

"Pretty much the same. Shirt, ridiculously huge pants, these weird running socks all guys seem to own." I said gesturing to the pile.

"What does your shirt say?" She asked holding her own t-shirt up to read what it said.

"No idea." I replied. "Yours?" I asked as I bent to pick it up.

"Black and white superman sign." She said rolling her eyes, but smiling.

I looked to see what mine said. It was once a t-shirt, but the sleeves had been cut off and so had the collar so it had ragged edges and the neckline was lower that it originally would have been but it wasn't outrageously low. It had a very simple design, it said 'Blackthorne' with 'School for boys' beneath it. I held it up for Bex to see.

"I think he cut it himself what do you think?" She said gesturing to the ragged edges.

"I think so too. I kinda like it though." I said studying it.

"It suits you. Fits your real personality." Bex said with a wink. "Help me get out of this dress." She turned and I paused.

"Wait a second...How much do we trust Grant and Zach?" I asked.

"Not enough to not check for bugs." She said catching on immediately.

We quickly searched the room for any type of recording device or even a camera. When we found nothing, I turned back to Bex and she gestured to the back of her dress.

After undoing the ridiculous amount of buttons and trying not to rip the zipper when it got stuck, we finally had Bex out of the dress. She quickly pulled the t-shirt over her head and laid her dress carefully on the couch before helping me get the back of my dress undone. When she pulled apart the ties that held the corset tight to my body, I sighed in relief. I hadn't realized how tight they really were.

"Hold on a second." Bex instructed reaching into the pocket that didn't hold her phone. She pulled out a flat travel bottle of perfume. I gave her a wary look and she held up her hand as if to say 'wait for it'. She pulled off her own t-shirt and sprayed us both with the perfume, and then sprayed the piles of clothing.

"Don't tell Macey." She begged when she was done. "She told me I couldn't take it with me."

"I won't fink." I said as I pulled on the shirt and sweat pants over the shorts. I shook my hair a little to pull it out from under the collar.

"Wow, you those drown you." Bex said gesturing to the ensemble.

"Yeah…" I sighed. I held up the pants as I crossed to the mirror, to try and fix the ensemble, with Bex following behind me holding up her own sweats.

I rolled up the waistband of the pants until the legs weren't dangling on the floor. I tried tucking in the shirt but it looked worse so I just left it hanging out. I twisted from side to side examining how it looked when I noticed a small inconvenience.

"Um, Bex…?"

"Yeah?" She replied as she twisted in the same way I did.

"How much of my bra can you see?" I asked trying not to blush.

"Just the sides of it." She replied.

"Oh no!" I groaned then threw my head into my hands.

"I wouldn't complain if I were you, I don't think there's any way you're going to fix it." Bex said shaking her hair.

"Absolutely nothing?" I asked.

"Nothing. It was worse when you tucked it in." She replied honestly.

"Then it is staying untucked." I said firmly.

"My hair is driving me crazy." Bex said pulling apart her curls.

"Same." I sighed.

"Don't you have bobby pins in your hair?" She asked.

"Six." I replied.

"I can give us both buns using three each." She said reaching for the bobby pins.

"Do it." I said helping her pull them from my hair.

I shook loose the braid and Bex began on my hair. She had me kneel on the ground, before starting. She pulled free two short strands of curls before twisting it into a perfect messy bun and pinning it. She quickly pulled up her own hair in the same fashion. We pulled on the socks and grabbed our dresses then moved to the door.

"Who has the keys?" I asked referring to the car we took here. We were going to put our dresses in the back.

"Grant I think." She replied.

"Front left pocket then." I said as we made our way down the stairs.

We reached the front door, pulled the keys from Grant's pocket and dropped off our dresses in the car. We walked leisurely back to the building.

"I'm so tired." Bex said rubbing her eyes with the heel of her palm. I saw something out of the corner of my eye.

"Hey look people." I said pointing them out.

She jumped right to attention as we squatted by the flowers and watched five people cross from the side of the house to the parking lot. The walked to the other side of the street, climbed into a cleverly concealed car, and drove away.

"Wonder what they were doing." I said as we continued towards the manor.

"I think we're about to find out." Bex replied.

We entered the main room and within seconds we discovered what they were doing. The ballroom had a screen that had been lowered with a projector at the back of the room shining down onto it like in a movie theatre. Candles were lit across the room, lighting it just enough to see. In front of the screen there was a huge pile of pillows and blankets and I assume a lot of padding. Grant and Zach stood in front of the mound of fabric, looking satisfied with themselves. I made eye contact with Bex and we smiled.

"Wow, this is incredible. How did you guys get this done so fast?" I asked as we moved towards them.

"You girls took longer than you thought I guess." Grant said shrugging.

"Well still, there are only two of you, this must have taken at least five people to get done this fast." Bex added.

"We're plenty fast enough." Zach said winking as he pulled me into a hug.

"Sure you did." Grant winked. "It was worth the wait though, you guys look great in our clothes."

"I hope you realize you aren't getting these back." I said as I walked towards Zach.

"I'm honestly glad you're keeping them." Zach said wrapping me in a hug. "I look good on you Gallagher Girl." He whispered in my ear.

"You girls ready to watch a movie?" Grant asked changing the subject.

"Sure, what are we watching?" Bex questioned as Grant lead her to the front of the mound.

"We will be watching Grant's favorite film, The Princess Bride." Zach announced as he flopped down onto the mound and pulled me down beside him.

"Sounds like fun." I said. Zach pulled me under his arm and I snuggled in close to him.

"I love this movie." Bex commented as she and Grant arranged themselves in a similar position. Bex was on Grant's left and I was on Zach's right so we were right next to her.

I toed Bex's ankle towards mine and we locked them to stay connected. Even when we were with our boys, this summer was about the girls.

The movie started as Zach picked up a remote and hit play. I laid my head on his chest as we watched Wesley and Buttercup fall in love, and then as Wesley disappeared. Around the time Buttercup got engaged to the prince, Zach pulled the pins from my hair. I jerked my head around slightly to look at him.

"What are you doing?" I whispered.

"Shhh." He said as he slid the pins onto the hem of the shirt. "Just let it happen." He untwisted my hair and arranged it so it fell down my back.

It was subtle at first, so I didn't really pay it any mind but then it continued so I paid more attention. After about five minutes it became clear that Zach was playing with my hair. I carefully looked back at him to see him intently looked at my hair as he played with the curl in his hand. He twisted it around his finger, then untwisted it, then let it hang and then ran his finger through the strands. It took him a while to realize I was watching him, and when he did he just smiled and then went back to playing with my hair. I grinned and turned back to the movie.

It was comforting to have Zach play with my hair. It was becoming hard to stay awake, and I was going to stay awake. Finally finally finally just before I was about to give up hope and doze off, the movie ended and they rode off into the sunset. But then end of the movie brought a new problem. I didn't want to get up. I was so comfortable laying there, I could've stayed in his arms forever. I closed my eyes gently and waited for Zach to get up first.

Only, he didn't get up either. Neither did Bex or Grant. We laid there for at least a half an hour before Grant finally said.

"It's getting late, we should get back." He got only groans in response. And so we laid there for another five minutes before Zach agreed.

"Come on, let's get out to the car." He said as he moved to get up. I let him climb up before rolling over on my other side towards Bex.

Bex and I laid there while Zach and Grant tried to convince us to get up. They were unsuccessful. Eventually, they just got sick of waiting for us and scooped us both up and carried us out to the car. We didn't complain.

The drive back to our house was silent except for directions from Zach to Grant. Bex and I laid on the seats in the back, huddling together to try and stay warm. We reached the house in good time, we made it back before three in the morning. I wonder how fast Grant was going.

The boys opened the back door of the van and climbed up to pick us up and carry us into the house. Zach let go with one hand only for a second as he opened the door. We crossed through the kitchen, past Solomon and My mom who accepted a simple "We're taking them to bed" as an explanation before the boys carried us up the stairs and into the first room on the left.

"Whoa. What happened?" Grant whisper asked. I guess Macey and Liz hadn't cleaned up anything. I didn't blame them.

"No idea...where are their beds?" Zach whispered back.

"Through here." Macey said normally, as she appeared at the bathroom door and flicking on the overhead lights.

"You don't have to whisper you know, they aren't asleep. Neither are we." Liz added appearing next to Macey.

"Well, now we know." Grant said as he followed our two friends into the room with our beds.

"I think Cammie actually is asle-so that's what the christmas lights were for." Zach commented as we entered our room. "Jonas will be psyched."

"Please deposit our friends and leave the way you came." Macey instructed. Zach placed me gently on the bed. We waited until the door shut behind them before popping up to a sitting position and turning to our best friends.

"What a night!" Bex and I said in unison.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: I'm sorry it's been so long! And to answer your question anon, I post rather sporadically. I try to write at least every day and as soon as I have a reasonably sized chapter I post it and there is absolutely no way I'm going to abandon this story! I tried to make this chapter long to make up for my lack of updating! Enjoy!**

Chapter 21

"No kidding!" Liz exclaimed as Bex and I smiled at our two best friends.

"Did you have fun at the drive in?" Bex teased.

"How did you know about that?" Macey asked laughing.

"We got the boys to tell us what you were up to." I said with a wink.

"Ugh. Can Cam and I change? These sweat pants are really hot." Bex asked pulling the collar of her shirt away to hopefully help her cool down.

"You can after you shower." Macey said.

"When can we shower?" I asked.

"When I'm done interrogating you. Now, tell us, what did you do? Start after you turned off your bugs we already watched the footage." Macey instructed.

Bex began "Well, they took us out to the van and they had completely remade the van, it was comfortable and different and I'm sure you'll get to see I think they'll leave it like that. Anyway, Grant drove us to this manor-"

"Which was terrifying by the way, he's a very scary driver." I put in.

"Yeah, anyway we get to this huge manor, it's like ¾ the size of Gallagher. The boys casually mention that we might play a game like hide and seek then see what we want to do from there and Cammie, being Cammie, immediately plots a way for us to get out of the there so we bolt for the stairs and we're playing this insane game of hide and seek and when the boys finally found us like forty five minutes later, Grant decides he wants to dance."

I took over the explanation. "We danced for hours, every kind of dance we ever learned and then some. It was so much fun. About half way through our dancing we took an ice cream break and Bex and I overheard some really weird conversation about them breaking into our files and how they had a ton of stuff they didn't want us to know about them. Really weird."

"We'll get there later, keep going." Macey said moving us on.

Bex picked up where I left off. "Anyway so after the weird conversation we danced for another hour or so and then the boys are all like 'its time for stage two' and me and Cam were all like 'nooooo' but they sent us upstairs where we changed into these in a really fancy room, and when we came back downstairs they had transformed the ballroom into this really romantic movie watching sort of thing-"

"They tried to convince us that they had done it by themselves but we saw the other people leaving when we took our dresses to the car." I put in.

"It was so funny. We watched the princess bride and Zach played with Cam's hair the whole time and it was totally sweet. Then they carried us out to the car and we came back here." Bex finished with a flare.

"Aww that's so sweet, it sounds like you guys had a lot of fun." Liz said "Now what's this about them breaking into our files?"

Bex and I relayed the conversation, practically verbatim and they both got this really thoughtful look on their faces.

"Liz, get your laptop we're breaking in." Macey said as she scooped her hair up into a ponytail.

"I don't know Macey, it sounds like they really don't want us to know…" Liz argued.

"Liz, for all we know the thing they don't want us to know is Blackthorne's secret." Bex said reassuringly.

"Hold on a second." I said stopping everyone in their tracks, generally I was the one convincing the others to do something insane. "It sounds like they're going to tell us. I mean, from Grant's tone and Zach's resignation at the end, I'd bet my buttons they're going to tell us whatever it is and soon. Probably tomorrow."

Macey thought it over. "Okay, we wait twenty four hours and then if they don't say anything we break in."

Bex reluctantly nodded agreement.

"Well, what did you guys do tonight?" I asked turning the conversation in a different direction.

"I thought you already knew." Liz teased.

"We knew what was planned, not what actually happened." Bex said as she flopped on the mattress.

"Well, it was really great. We went to see this old black and white movie and ended up breaking into the wireless connection between the player and projector and changed it so the language of the movie was russian. We laughed the whole time and they never managed to change it back." Liz said with a lovestruck look. She went into this tangent about how Jonas manages to do something nerdy in a really attractive way (well, at least according to Liz) and it was kinda cute.

"Aww cute." Bex commented. "What about you Mace?"

"Preston took me on a scavenger hunt all across town and we talked for hours. It was so sweet, he rented out one of my favorite places and we spent most of the night there then went on a walk along the beach under the stars. After words we may or may not have snuck into a closed Ice cream parlor for some mint chocolate chip. It was a great night."

"That's so sweet." I said as Macey got a dreamy look in her eye. It looked like she was about to jut off about how Preston managed to scoop ice cream."

"Isn't it?" Bex said before she had the chance.

"Alright, I've got a question. What was up with the million texts?" Liz asked.

Macey, Bex, and I burst into laughter.

"My phone kept vibrating and I was trying so hard not to let on to Jonas and he started to look panicked and I couldn't tell him it was my phone and I thought you were all dying!" We laughed harder. She kept going.

"Eventually I told him I had to go to the bathroom so I could check my phone and it was just a bunch of random things! I mean-really Bex? Going over all the members of the royal family? Seriously?"

We roared with laughter. Macey was the first to regain the ability to speak.

"I'm sorry Liz, we were bored and it seemed like a good idea at the time!" We laughed a little bit more and after another five minutes, we had calmed down enough for the exhaustion settled in.

"Can we go shower now?" Bex asked, crazy as it may seem we'd already been back for about an hour.

"Sure, just try to hurry I want to go to sleep." Macey said yawning.

"Awesome." Bex bolted for the bathroom and less than five minutes later she appeared back in Grant's t-shirt and in her pajama shorts.

I stood up and crossed the bathroom, showering faster than I ever had before. I was exhausted. I pulled Zach's shirt over my head and tugged on some shorts before crossing back to my friends. I checked my phone one last time for the night to see if Zach had said anything and when there wasn't a message I plugged it in and collapsed next to my friends. I imagined we would all sleep in very late tomorrow.

We slept through like half of the next day. We finally woke up at around twelve thirty, each and every one of us more tired than when we went to bed.

"I will never leave this bed again." Bex complained as she shoved her face into her pillow.

"You will have to leave this bed today because I want food." Liz said as she pulled the blankets off of Bex.

"Since when do you need me to get food?" Bex asked pulling the blankets back.

"Since today." Liz said once again pulling the blankets off of Bex.

"I wonder if Grant's awake." Bex wondered.

"Well if we get up to get food, I bet we'll find him." Liz persuaded.

Bex groaned. "All right, let's go!" They rolled to their feet and crossed to the door.

After we heard the door shut behind them I rolled to look at Macey.

"Did they just leave without us?" I asked her.

Her head popped off the pillow to look at me. "I believe the did."

"They didn't even try to wake us up." I complained.

"Rude. I want to get food, but I feel like giving them the silent treatment until they apologize." Macey said.

"I agree. But I'm seriously hungry." I said as my stomach growled.

"Alright, I'm over it they were just trying to be good friends let's go get food." Macey said jumping to her feet.

"Agreed." I followed her and we quickly made our way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Alright heathens what do we have to eat?" Macey asked as Liz and Bex came into sight.

"We're going for sandwhiches. Meatball subs sound good to you?" Bex replied.

"Heathens?" Liz asked.

"Yes, heathens. Meatball subs sound perfect." I answered as we reached the bottom steps.

"Do we have any cheese to put on them?" Macey crossed to the fridge. "Yeah we do, we're good." She answered her own question.

"How many meatballs do we have?" I asked.

"A whole box." Bex said holding up a full box.

"Are we sharing with the boys?" I asked.

"Nah, they're still asleep. They can make something when they wake up so it's fresh." Bex answered.

"How long did it take you to come up with that excuse?" I questioned her.

"About as long as it took to walk down here." Liz replied with a smile.

I rolled my eyes but grinned.

"Is the oven preheating?" Macey asked. "I'm starving."

"Yeah but it might take a while." Liz replied gesturing to the oven.

"What can we eat while we're waiting?" I groaned.

"I think there's some cereal." Bex said crossing to the cupboard.

I went and got milk, Bex got cereal, Macey got bowls, and Liz got spoons. We met at the table and each made a huge pile of sugary goodness. We stuffed our faces only pausing to put the meatballs in the oven, and after we had momentarily silences our hunger we addressed what should have been obvious.

"Where are mom and Solomon?" I wondered.

"Dunno. Is the car still here?" Macey asked.

Liz sat up in her seat to check. "It's still here, are they outside?

Bex straightened in her seat and looked up out the window. "Um...yes. It looks like they're surfing. How kind of them to let us sleep in." Bex said settling in to stuff her face again.

"What day is it?" I asked curiously.

"I dunno, June probably." Macey said filling her bowl once more.

"Like...Monday I think…" Liz said thoughtfully.

"Very nice. Aren't we supposed to go shopping this week?" Bex asked.

"Yeah let's go tomorrow." Macey said perking up.

"You know I'm starting to regret my choice to redo my look already." I put in.

"Eh, no need we're going to make it comfortable and hot." Macey said reassuringly.

The timer beeped and I popped up to pull the meatballs from the oven.

"You know I'm kind of surprised that the smell hasn't pulled the boys from bed. They must be exhausted." Liz said glancing at the stairs.

"I'm surprised too. You think they'd be starving." I added as Bex and I began to assemble our sandwiches.

"I don't care. More food for us." Macey said putting her bowl in the sink and crossing to make her own sandwich.

"Ow. Careful they're really hot." Bex said as she tried to take a bite.

"You literally just pulled them from the oven." Liz said as she put the milk back in the fridge.

"What are we going to do today?" I asked as I waited for my sandwich to cool. "And what are we going to do the rest of the week?"

"These need marinara sauce." Macey said as she went to grab some from the cupboard. "We could always plan what we're going to buy tomorrow. Save us some time."

"What about the rest of the week?" Bex asked.

"We could go to the beach. Try to teach the guys to surf better and work on our tans." Liz suggested.

"Yeah, we could go to the boardwalk a few times too and see what the local are up to." Bex added.

"What like Sawyer and the guys?" I asked when she emphasized locals.

"That'd be fun. The guys would get along great." Macey said. "At least I hope they will. It could be fun."

"I say we go for it." Liz suggested.

The back door opened slowly as my mom and Solomon came back inside. We didn't fail to notice that Solomon was shirtless and very buff.

"Hello girls, glad to see that you're awake." My mom said as she stepped carefully inside.

"Mmmm it smells good in here. I hope you're willing to share."

"We made a ton, you're welcome to help yourself." Bex said politely, Madame Dabney would be proud.

"Thank you Miss Baxter, I believe we will." Solomon said as he and my mom entered the kitchen.

"Are the boys still asleep?" My mom asked.

"Yeah, we haven't heard a peep out of them at all today." I said.

"I should go wake them up." Solomon said as he took a huge bite out of his sandwich.

"Nah let them sleep a little while longer, they need it." My mom said stopping him from going upstairs. "What are you girls planning on doing today?"

"Well we were planning on getting ready to go shopping tomorrow, or whenever you're willing to take us. We want to go over what we're going to buy so we can hopefully save some time when we finally make it to the mall." Macey said.

"Tomorrow sounds great. Are we still planning on redoing Cammie's wardrobe?" My mom asked.

"Yeah, I think we're planning on redoing all of our wardrobes. Hence the need for planning." Liz added.

"Well then I think planning is a wonderful idea. I'll help you with it if you like, I have quite a bit of experience in this field." Mom said with a wink.

"It would be a huge help. We kinda wanna start after lunch." Macey said as she grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge.

I coughed. "_Macey_ kind of wants to start after lunch." I clarified.

"Well what else would we do?" Macey defended.

"Point made." I said after a moment's thought.

"Hey Cam are you done?" Liz asked me as Macey made another sandwich and I put my dishes in the sink.

"Yeah, why?" I asked.

"Come here, I need your help with something." She jumped up and ran to the stairs and I followed.

"What are you guys doing?" Bex yelled after us.

"Show you in a minute!" Liz called back to her.

She led me to our room and quickly grabbed her laptop. She opened it up and pulled up the footage from our bugs.

"So why am I here?" I asked as she set up all four streams side by side.

"Oh, I need you to get the boys phones for me. I have an idea, a pretty great one if I do say so myself, but I want it to be a surprise so I need you to get their phones without waking them up." She explained.

"Okay, do you want me to get them now?" I asked.

"If you would." Liz said as she began to fast forward to the part of the footage she wanted.

"Well then I'll be right back."

"Remember, it's imperative that they don't find out what we're doing." She warned.

"Gotcha." I said as I slipped silently into the hall.

Getting into the boys rooms wasn't at all hard, they're really light sleepers out of necessity but I'm a silent walker when I want to be, there wasn't even a sign that they _might_ have heard me. I was feeling rather good about myself, I grabbed all four of their phones and slipped quietly back into our room where Liz was sitting with about a million windows on her computer open.

"Got 'em. What on earth are you doing?" I asked as I sat next to her on our massive bed.

She explained her plan to me. "Well, I got the idea last night while me and Mace watched the footage from the bugs. Of course the boys had the cutest reactions ever to seeing us and Macey kind of half mentioned how she would like a picture of Preston's face as her screen saver and when I saw Jonas' reaction I definitely wanted my wallpaper to be his face when he saw me because-"

"Because it was absolutely adorable." I put in.

"Exactly. So I got to thinking, we all made kissy faces at the bugs at the camera and such and what if we set their wallpapers as us winking at them."

"That would be so cute." I said with a grin.

"I thought so too, so I needed you to get their phones while I did...this." She showed her computer screen to me and I saw four pictures side by side.

The far left had the picture of Liz just before she broke the bug, her lips puckered and her eyes smiling with a black and white filter. Next to Liz was Macey with the sunsetting behind her making a gorgeous backdrop despite the fact that it was in black and white. Next to Macey was Bex whose eyes were half closed as she blew a kiss at the camera, once again black and white. I was on the far right, one eye winking at the camera while I blew a kiss, and just to keep the pattern up it was also black and white.

"Wow Liz they look great. Have you done the pictures of the boys too?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's where I got the idea to do the black and white filter. Do you think you could get your mom to send us the pictures she took of the couples?" Liz asked.

"Yeah definitely, I wanna see the pictures of the guys first though" I said and she pulled up the pictures.

First up was Jonas, of course. His eyes were crinkled at the edges and his grin was huge. There was a sparkle in his eye that was unmistakable despite the black and white filter that covered each of the pictures. The picture of Preston was next to Jonas. He looked like a model, he was grinning of course and his thumb was touching one side of his nose with his hand half covering his smile as if he didn't want to show how much he liked Macey's outfit. It was precious. Grant's picture was next his, his hand were both pressed over his mouth but you could tell that he was grinning. His eyes were glued to what I knew was Bex, he looked like the happiest man alive. Zachs picture was last and I was in love with it. The frame Liz caught had Zach in a similar pose to Preston but still different she caught him just as his hand had twitched toward his face and when his grin was at its widest. His eyes were locked on mine and one side of his smile was higher than the other giving it a completely Zach feeling. It was perfect.

"Holy crap Liz, these are incredible. Will you send me that picture of Zach while I talk to my mom?" I asked.

"Of course! Go get Bex and Macey too, I want to show them."

"They'll definitely want to see them" I smiled. "We need to try to hurry though, I don't know when they're going to wake up."

"Well than hurry!" I laughed and ran from the room.

I took the stairs at a sprint and jumped over the last four and turned towards my mom.

"Hey mom, will you send me all the pictures you took of us last night? Of all the girls." I asked quickly.

"Sure, hand me my phone." She said gesturing towards the counter.

I grabbed her phone and handed it to her then turned to Macey and Bex.

"Liz has something to show you guys, it's really important and she needs you like right now." I said. They glanced at each other and took for the stairs. "Quietly!" I called after them and they quieted their steps.

I waited impatiently as she sent them to my phone and the second she told me that they had sent and were delivered I took off for the stairs once more. I ran up them quickly and quietly. I reached our room and ran to get my phone before sitting next to my friends.

"Alright I got them." I informed Liz, she nodded. "What did you guys think of the pictures?" I asked.

"We loved them, I can't wait to see the ones your mom took." Macey said with a smile.

"I sent you the picture of Zach, Cam." Liz said. "Will you send me the pictures of me and Jonas?" She asked.

"Sure, send me the pictures of the four of us?" I replied.

"Yeah." She turned to her computer.

"I want them too." Bex said.

"Yeah, me too." Macey added.

"Mmmkay." Liz said absentmindedly.

I scrolled through the pictures that my mom sent me and quickly sent each of the girls their pictures before looking at the pictures of me and Zach. They were adorable. The first picture was the one where I kissed his jaw and she accidently caught the perfect moment. He was looking down at me and smiling while my lips were pressed firmly to the underside of his jaw and my hands were gripping his lapels. The second picture was when Zach kissed my neck. My eyes were closed but my smile was one of pure bliss and I kind of loved it. When I saw the third one, I noticed that my mom did catch me looking at Zach and not only that, but Zach had looked at me at the same second. It was a gorgeous picture.

"Hey Cam, wanna send me that picture of the two of us with Zach and Grant?" Bex asked.

"Sure thing. Hey Lizzie will you send me the frame of me and Bex blowing kisses at the camera together?" I asked.

"I want it too." Bex put in.

"Yeah sure. Do you want it in black and white?" She asked.

"Nah send it in color." I asked after Bex and I had a silent conversation.

"Cool." Liz said as she quickly tapped at her computer.

Finally we all had the pictures that we wanted and we set about changing our boyfriends wallpapers. Macey started on Preston's first.

"Uh-oh. Minor problem." She stated staring at Preston's phone.

"What's wrong?" Liz asked.

"Password." Macey said.

"Can't you crack it?" I asked.

"Maybe. The problem is that it isn't a simple four digit code, it's one of those more complicated could-be-two-letters-could-be-30-characters kind of passwords." She explained.

Bex and I nodded in understanding, none of us were very good with the tech stuff, hence our need for Liz. Liz however just looked thoughtfully at the phone then reached her hand out for the phone, Macey complied.

Liz plugged it into her computer and after exactly one minute had cracked the password and handed it back to Macey.

"Holy hannah Liz, that was really fast what was it?" Macey asked taking the phone back.

"'M&amp;P4ever'." Liz answered simply.

Bex and I aww'd and smiled at a grinning Macey.

"Do either of you guys have passwords?" Liz asked Bex and I. We both quickly tried to open their phones and were met with password screens similar to Macey's. Without a word we handed the phones to Liz.

She grabbed them from our hands and plugged them into her computer. She cracked Bex's first, it took her less than a minute to crack but Zach's phone took longer. She frowned at her computer after a couple minutes she grinned victoriously.

"Bex, Grant's was 'britishbombshell' no caps or spaces." She handed the phone to Bex then turned to me. "Zach's was pretty obvious, I can't believe I didn't get it." She handed me his phone.

"What was it?" I asked curiously.

"Zammie." She said with a smile. I raised an eyebrow at her and started to explain but Macey beat her to it.

"It's your couple name." She said with a smile.

"Our what?" I asked wide eyed.

"Your couple name. You know, both of your names put together to make a couple name, kind of like Brangelina." She elaborated.

I raised my eyebrows as I turned to his phone. "I didn't realize we had a couple name."

"Of course you do!" Bex exclaimed.

"Do you guys have couple names?" I asked as I sent the pictures I wanted as his wallpapers to his phone.

"Yeah." Macey said doing the same with Preston's phone.

"We do?" Bex asked surprised.

Macey just gave her a look that said 'Are you really surprised?' and turned back to Preston's phone. Bex taking the hint that she wasn't going to say any more on the subject, turned to Grant's phone so I picked up Zach's and waited for the pictures to deliver.

I didn't have to wait long, seconds after we fell silent his phone vibrated with a text from 'Dove'.

"Well, Zach apparently has quite the interesting secret nickname for me." I announced to my best friends.

"Oh really?" Bex asked leaning forward in interest. "And what might this secret nickname be?"

"Well, according to his phone, it is 'Dove' what do you suppose that means?" I asked.

"I've had guys call me 'dove'" Macey said. "It's generally because they find me fragile."

We all snorted in disgust and made faces at the phone as if that would change anything.

"Oh, get this, according to Grant's phone his secret nickname for me is 'Kitten'" Bex said in horrified disgust.

We all groaned at the horrible nickname. Did he not know her at all?

"Mine is doll." Macey said in a sickly sweet voice and we all booed at the horrible name.

"Jonas put my name in as...'Muffin'." Liz said in a quiet voice but she had to force the name out, and I tried very hard to hold back my laughter I really did, but it just burst out.

Bex, Macey, and I all burst with laughter. The name was so horrible. So so so horrible and it didn't fit Liz at all! Is this really how the boys saw us? If so, we needed to change their view, starting with the absolutely terrible nicknames.

We started suggesting new nicknames for each other, each one more wild than the one before. We had to do it quickly and we had to do it quietly. We swiftly decided on K-9 for me, Snake Eyes for Liz, Kill Switch for Bex, and Thrasher for Macey.

We switched our names in their phones and set to work on changing the wallpapers. I changed Zach's lock screen to the picture of my blowing a kiss and his home screen to the picture of me kissing his jaw. I swiftly changed my own lock screen to the picture of Zach when he saw me but kept the home screen as the picture of the four of us.

Bex, Macey, and Liz all finished at almost the exact same time I did and they passed the phones to me to return to their places. I crossed silently into their rooms once more and put them in the exact same place that I found them before returning silently to the rooms we all shared.

"Alright, it's done." I said as I plopped down onto the mattress next to Bex.

"What are we doing now?" Liz asked.

"Well we need to plan what we're going to buy tomorrow with Mom, I guess we could go do that." Macey said from where she lay on the bed.

"Yeah…I don't know if I want to go all the way downstairs though." I said.

"You do, come on." Bex said pulling me to my feet.

I groaned but got up then turned and pulled Macey up while Bex grabbed Liz. We all grabbed our phones and notebooks/laptops then stomped our way carelessly down the stairs. Unfortunately we tripped (well, Liz let out an "Oopsie daisy!" and pulled the rest of us down with her) about halfway down the stairs and we all tumbled to the bottom.

We landed in a huge pile at the foot of the stairs, with Liz apologizing and the rest of us laughing.

"Are you girls okay?" Mom asked from where she sat at the table with Solomon.

"Yeah, we're good." Bex said as she climbed to her feet pulling Liz up with her.

"Aww man there's really no good place for Liz to be when we go down the stairs is there?" Macey said jokingly as she climbed to her feet and reached a hand down to pull me up with her.

I laughed. "Apparently we need to-Ow!" I cried as I put my weight on my ankle.

"Cam are you okay?" Bex worriedly as she and Liz whirled around to look at me.

Macey immediately put her arm around me to support me on my bad ankle and began escorting me to the couch. Mom and Solomon were on their feet in a second and followed us to the couch so they could examine my ankle.

"Oh man Cammie, I'm so sorry." Liz said wringing her hands.

"I'm fine Liz, besides it's not your fault." I reassured her.

Macey helped me settle on the couch and I stretched out my leg to where Mom was waiting to examine it. She gently felt around the bone trying to test if it was broken. I answered her questions honestly and after carefully testing the joint she decided it wasn't broken, just badly sprained and went to get an ace bandage.

"Cam, I am so sorry!" Liz exclaimed guiltily.

"It's not your fault Liz!" I said waving off her apology.

"I feel so bad." She admitted.

"There's no need to, it definitely wasn't your fault, we all fell. Besides, Macey was the one that fell on top of me." I defended.

"See Liz, it's my fault." Macey said trying to take Liz's guilt. "Sorry Cam." She looked at me with a sober expression. We kept our straight faces for a good ten seconds before all four of us burst into laughter.

Mom cracked a smile as she came back with the bandage to keep my ankle secure. She wrapped it tightly and expertly while I did my best to keep my expression neutral to make sure Liz didn't feel bad. Mom wrapped it gently however so it wasn't too difficult to keep the pain off my face and I was sure that as long as I stayed off it the best I could, I would be fine in no time.

"Well, this puts a damper on the shopping trip." Macey said as she sat next to me and held my hand.

"We're totally still going." I said waving off their protests. "There are plenty of places to sit while shopping, and the sooner we get this over with the better."

"We'll see how it feels tomorrow and then we'll see." Mom said with a stern look on her face.

"It feels fine now." I said innocently.

Solomon looked at me from where he stood at the end of the couch. I knew that he knew that I wasn't completely telling the truth but I also knew that he wasn't going to say anything about it.

"Not to mention that everything that we planned on doing for the rest of the day involves sitting anyway. I'll give it plenty of rest today to build up its' strength for tomorrow." I reasoned.

"I can honestly say I've never heard Cammie so eager to go shopping." Bex said in a baffled tone.

I shrugged then smiled at my three best friends. "Let's get planning."

We piled onto the couch, me and Liz in the middle with Macey on my right and Bex on Liz's left. My ankle was resting on a pillow on the coffee table and Liz had half of her laptop resting on my leg. Bex and Macey had their notebooks open and pens at the ready.

I didn't really see how much there could be to discuss, but apparently there was a lot. We started with styles. I honestly didn't see how there could be so many, but there was chic, girly, edgy, edgy chic, hipster, fashion forward, punk, rock, goth, tomboy, grungy, and about half a dozen others. Macey had already had a bunch of ideas of who she wanted in what.

We quickly decided that Macey's main look would be hipster, Bex was going for grunge, Liz was going to be girly, and I was going to have an edgy look which contrary to popular belief is very different from grunge (according to Macey).

After we decided whose style was which we could narrow down which stores we were going to go to and which areas of the mall we could avoid completely. We quickly discounted a majority of the brand name stores, Macey was still sticking to her boutique-only shopping phase, so there were only a handful of stores in the mall that we could actually shop at. Macey was convinced that we could get everything we needed from the eight stores on the list. The rest of us were skeptical.

We had been planning our shopping trip for about an hour when the boys finally woke up. Well, when Jonas and Preston woke up. We heard a thump and a groan before a bleary eyed Jonas appeared at the top of the stairs. He stumbled down the stairs and made for the fridge and after he filled a bowl with sugary cereal he came and sat on the couch opposite us.

"Hey guys." He said before shoveling food into his mouth.

"Hey Jo." I said without looking up.

"Sup Jonas." Bex mumbled biting her pen, frowning at the paper.

"Hi Jonas." Macey said glaring at her phone. I think she was doing something involving math.

"Good morning Jonas." Liz said with a grin and a wink. He grinned back.

"What have you lovely ladies been up to this morning?" He asked in between bites.

"We're planning a mega huge shopping trip." Liz overexaggerated.

"I think I'm busy that day." He said and we all stopped what we were doing to glare at him. "Maybe I'm not busy that day." He amended.

"It doesn't matter. It's not like you guys are necessary for us to go shopping." Macey said obviously.

"Well don't tell Zach or Grant that, it will definitely cement their need to go." Jonas pleaded.

"Where are they?" Bex asked.

Jonas shrugged. "Sleeping probably. You guys wore them out." He got up to refill his bowl while Bex and I slapped hands.

We heard a stifled curse from the top of the stairs and looked up to see Preston clambering down the stairs.

"You okay Preston?" Jonas asked.

"Fine. Hungry." He said crossing to grab his favorite cereal. He sniffed the air hesitantly "Do I smell meat?" He asked shooting an accusatory glare at Jonas.

"It wasn't me!" Jonas defended carefully.

"It was us." Bex said nonchalantly from where she sat on the couch.

"Did you save us any?" Preston asked crossing to search for the food in question.

"Nah, we decided you guys would want to make it fresh for yourselves." Macey said ever so generously.

Preston shut the fridge and shot us a glare. "Thanks." He said sarcastically.

"Anytime." I replied distractedly.

He filled up a bowl with cereal then went to sit next to Jonas on the couch opposite us.

"Hey, what happened to your ankle?" Preston asked pointing to my left ankle with his spoon.

"How did I miss that?" Jonas mumbled with wide eyes.

"We fell down the stairs." I answered shortly.

"All of you?" Jonas asked disbelievingly.

"Well Liz kind of tripped and-" Preston cut Bex off.

"That's all I needed to know. Are you okay?" He asked turning to look at me.

"Yeah, a small sprain. Nothing to be worried about." I said waving off his concern.

"Mmmkay." He turned back to his cereal and took another bite before turning to Jonas. "How DID you miss that?" He asked. "Her foot is wrapped in an ace bandage and propped up against the table. How long have you been down here?"

"Only like five-ish minutes longer than you." Jonas defended.

"You worry me." Preston said squinting at Jonas worriedly.

"I worry me too." Jonas admitted.

"We should talk to Solomon about getting you some extra lessons." Preston said before turning back to his cereal.

Jonas' eyes grew to twice their size. "Please, anything but that."

"I'm afraid it might be necessary, dear Jonas." Preston teased.

Jonas groaned. Macey and I caught each other's gaze and rolled our eyes before returning to our previous tasks.

"Hey Macey, do you think this would fall under Cam's category or Bex's?" Liz asked showing a picture of a really cute black lace dress to Macey and me. Bex strained to see the item in question.

"Both. It depends on what they accessorized with." Macey said after looking at the picture carefully.

"What are you guys doing?" Preston asked.

"Planning a 'mega-huge' shopping trip." Jonas answered.

"Yikes. I think I'm busy that day." Preston responded as he got up to get more food.

"We already went over this, we don't need you guys to come. We're entirely capable of going shopping on our own." Bex said absentmindedly.

"Just don't-" The girls and I cut him off.

"Tell Zach and Grant that." We finished in unison.

"Yeah, we got it. Thanks." I said as I continued to watch Liz look up items on her laptop.

"Macey should we buy bathing suits?" Bex asked.

"Probably. Cam only has two." She answered.

"I have three!" I protested.

"Two of which I lent to you!" Macey retorted.

"Fair point. I concede." I said running a hand through my hair.

"Appreciated. We also need to look for shoes, makeup, accessories, and maybe look into new hair styles." Macey added.

"I'm drawing the line at hair." I said.

"I'm with Cam." Liz added.

"Forget the hair. That means we're going to spend more time in less desireable stores." Macey said shooting a look at me and Liz.

I made eye contact with Liz and I knew there wasn't a doubt in either of our minds what store she specifically had in mind. I was starting to believe it was her favorite.

"Hey Preston I'm going upstairs to grab my phone, you want me to get yours?" Jonas asked.

"Yeah thanks." Preston said grabbing both their bowls and crossing to the sink.

Bex, Liz, Macey, and I looking subtly and conspiratorily at each other.

Jonas made great time getting the phones, seconds later he was at the top of the stairs both phones in hand. "Hey, maybe we will go shopping with you guys so we can get new cases for our phones." He tossed Preston's phone to him from halfway down the stairs.

"You know tha-whoa." Preston said as he saw his new lock screen wallpaper.

"What?" Jonas asked. Wordlessly he held out his phone for Jonas to see.

Jonas quickly checked his own phone and smiled. I nudged Liz and she glanced up to see Jonas' grin. She blushed lightly. Jonas held his phone out for Preston and they gave each other a look.

Both boys walked over behind the couch and I waited for the inevitable interrogation. I was surprised, instead of questioning us they just leaned over and kissed their girls on the cheek. It was incredibly sweet. Bex and I looked at each other and grinned as Liz and Macey kissed them back.

"Wait until you open your phones." Bex hinted as she turned back to her notebook.

The boys quickly pulled away and typed in their passwords and grinned once more at their screens.

"How did you guys get those pictures?" Jonas asked with a smile.

"Never mind that how did you get into our phones?" Preston asked without a hint of anger.

"It wasn't hard. Your password is very cute." Macey said pinching his jaw with her forefinger and thumb. Preston grinned and kissed her.

"I'm glad you think so." He said pushing a piece of her hair back.

I glanced at Liz and Jonas on my other side. Jonas had Liz's head resting on the back of the couch and he was gazing down at her, stroking her hair. I caught Bex's eye and we smiled.

I pulled Liz's laptop off her lap and continued looking up items that we might have to find the next day while she and Jonas had her moment. Their soft conversation floated into my ears even though I tried to ignore it.

"Where did you get those pictures?" Jonas asked once more.

"The bugs we all had." Liz replied. "It was Cammie's idea."

"I'm glad she did."

"Me too."

"The other picture is the one Mrs. Morgan took right?"

"Yeah. Well, she took other ones but that one is my favorite." Liz admitted. "Well, my favorite of us."

"Any picture of us is my favorite." He said sweetly and I grinned for my friend.

"Mine too." She replied. I glanced subtly at Bex to see she was grinning as widely as I was. We made eye contact and silently said 'aww'.

"Hey Cam?" Liz said looking at me.

"Yeah?" I said preparing to hand her laptop back.

"Will you have your mom send us those other pictures of us? I know she's been taking them the whole time." She asked.

"Sure thing." I replied. "I'll text her now. I doubt she'll see it for a while though."

"Where did she and Solomon go?" Liz asked.

"Back outside to surf some more. I might just wait for them to come back in." I replied.

"Smart move." Bex said jumping into the conversation.

Macey squealed and I whirled to look at her. She was covering her face and laughing while Preston looked anxiously at the stairs, a smile on his face. I gave Macey a questioning look and she responded with a 'tell you later' hand wave.

"Man. They are _out_." Preston said turning to look at me and Bex again. "What did you guys do to them?" Bex and I made eye contact and grinned.

"Sorry, can't say. Trade secret." Bex answered. "You may want to go see if they're actually still alive though." She teased.

"I'm starting to think that's a good idea." Preston said nudging Jonas.

They walked swiftly up the stairs. The girls and I turned to each other and burst into laughter.

"Dang Mace, what was that about?" I asked still smiling.

"He tickled my neck, you know how that is. Are they seriously going to see if they're still alive?" She asked incredulously.

"I don't see why. We didn't wear them out that much!" Bex protested.

"At least, I don't think so." I agreed.

"They probably just went to wake them up." Liz said reasonably.

"Ugh. They've been asleep for so long." I said running a hand through my hair. "How much more time can we spend planning this?" I asked. I was totally done.

"We just need to set a budget then we're done but we should wait for your mom for that." Macey said. "So I guess we're done. Anybody down to watch a movie?"

"I really just wanna go run a mile or so." I suggested.

"You can't, you have a sprained ankle." Bex pointed out.

"Right." I sighed.

"Why do you always get the most restless when you get injured?" Liz asked.

"Because I can't do anything when I'm injured. It's irritating." I said squirming. I sighed again. "What if I ran on my hands?" I suggested.

"No." Macey said immediately. "We can watch a movie or plan outfits for tomorrow or...clean up the bathroom." I sighed again.

"What if we baked cookies or something?" Liz suggested.

"We'd probably burn the house down." Bex pointed out. I breathed heavily

"We could do that painting stone thing." Macey mentioned.

"No paint." I shot the idea down. I went to sigh again but Bex stopped me.

"Cameron Ann Morgan, if you sigh one more time I swear-" She was cut off by the sound of four groans.

"What do they keep running into?" I asked exasperated there was nothing to hit.

"That's really a good question." Liz said confused.

"What do you guys keep running into?" Bex called as they stumbled down the stairs.

"Nothing." They all answered very very quickly. We'd have to search for the mysterious object later.

"Cammie what the heck did you do to your ankle?" Zach asked worriedly as he lept over the side of the railing on the stairs, landing perfectly balanced on his feet, and ran to examine my injury.

"We fell down the stairs and now it's slightly sprained nothing to worry about." I explained as he picked it up gingerly and felt the bone through the ace bandage.

"Yeah, right." He mumbled as he rested my foot on his lap, taking place of the pillow it had rested on before. He rested his hand on my shin and rubbed his thumb along my skin. "I still look good on you Gallagher Girl." He said gesturing to my shirt.

"Thanks." Macey replied and I laughed.

Zach let out a huff and gave me a look that said he was trying hard not to throttle Macey.

"We still have no intention of giving these back." I informed him.

"I am completely okay with that." Zach said running his fingertips along my leg.

"Hey Zach guess how long it took Jonas to notice that Cam hurt her ankle." Preston teased.

"Oh come on, now you're just being mean." Jonas retorted with a grin. "It isn't really that funny." Jonas directed at Zach.

"Oh now you definitely have to tell us, I'm really curious." Grant put in, slipping his arm around Bex. Surprisingly enough, she let him.

"How long did it take, Preston?" Zach asked.

"At least five minutes. The girls could give you a more accurate time count." Preston said with a smile.

Grant started laughing. "Seriously? Oh come on Jo."

"Here's the kicker, he was sitting on the couch right there eating his cereal having a conversation with them and he honestly didn't notice." Preston added. Grant laughed harder and Zach started chuckling.

"Oh yeah, ha ha ha." Jonas said sarcastically. "I bet you yahoo's didn't notice what's on your phones."

"What's on our phones?" Zach asked and Jonas gave him a look that said there was no way he was going to tell them.

Grant and Zach exchanged a look and Grant shrugged.

"We'll be right back." Zach said gently setting my ankle back on the pillow. He kissed my cheek and then followed Grant up the stairs.

I looked at a grinning Bex. I grinned back and look around me to see everyone else was waiting anxiously to see their reaction.

"Way to give it away Jonas." Preston said with a cheeky grin.

"Oh please, the girls want them to notice it." Jonas said going to sit on the couch once more.

We didn't have to wait long for them to reappear. Grant was in front of Zach on the stairs, which was to be expected since his room was closer to the stairs, but Zach made it down the stairs first by once again jumping over the side of the staircase.

"You know if you keep doing that you're going to hurt yourself." I lectured.

He crossed over behind the back of the couch and tilted my head back. He pressed his lips to mine in a spiderman style kiss. I could feel his nose touching my chin and felt my own scraping against the stubble he'd yet to shave off. I wrapped my arms around his neck holding his head to mine, just a little longer when he tried to pull away.

He brushed my hair back, still behind me so he seemed to be upside down. He grinned and shook his head before pressing his lips once more to mine. I smiled into the kiss. His reaction was much better than I had hoped.

"Do I even want to know how you got into my phone?" He asked with a grin.

I laughed a little. "Probably not." He grinned at me before kissing my forehead and going to reclaim his place on the coffee table to hold my ankle.

"Okay, we've planned all that we can for tomorrow. Can we go do something now? Can we at least go sit by the pool or something?" I begged.

"Hold on a second, what's tomorrow?" Grant asked.

"We have a shopping trip planned." Macey answered, no doubt anticipating the answer that was going to follow.

Zach and Grant both broke into excuses. "I think we planned something tomorrow, didn't we Zach?"

"Yeah, we did we planned that, that, running thing with Solomon. All day."

"Please don't say it." Preston begged under his breath, but Macey ignored him.

"It's alright if you guys don't want to come, we don't need you to come shopping with us. We are entirely capable of doing things on our own." Macey said emphasising the word need.

Zach got a glint in his eye, ever the over protective alpha male. "You know what Grant, I do believe we can reschedule our training." He said in a manly tone.

"I do believe that we can as well." Grant added in the same tone as Zach. I could tell they believed we were challenging their manliness. "Would you ladies mind if we accompanied you?" He asked.

"You can come, but only if you want to. You don't have to prove anything." Bex informed them.

"Of course we want to come. Why wouldn't we want to spend the day with you?" Zach defended trying to seem like a caring boyfriend.

"Well great. Can we go outside now?" I pleaded.

"Cam, you can't do anything. You have to rest your ankle for tomorrow." Bex reminded me.

"I can sit on the beach, feet in the water. I won't be putting pressure on it, so it's okay." I reasoned.

"How do you expect to get out there?" Macey asked.

"I will crawl if necessary. I've never felt so restless in my entire life." I admitted.

"What about that time you broke your leg?" Liz reminded me.

I groaned. "Except for that time. But even then you and Bex pushed me around the halls in the wheel chair."

"And got us all in to detention for disturbing the peace." Bex added.

"I don't think that's what got us into detention. I think it was more along the lines of endangering other students." Liz corrected.

"Well we did both, so it was probably both that landed us there." I mused. "Can we go outside now?"

"Oh my word, I want to go outside just to get Cammie to shut up!" Macey said jumping to her feet. "Bex, help me get Cammie upstairs to change."

"I got her." Zach said pulling me into his arms, carrying me bridal style.

"Thanks." Bex said running for the stairs. I could tell she was racing to beat Macey to the bathroom.

Macey and Bex sprinted up the stairs while Liz stayed behind to walk by Zach and me. Zach deposited me in the room we used to change in, setting me down where Liz directed on the dresser. He left to go change with the guys and I waited for Liz to go and grab a swimsuit for me.

"Macey instructed me to give you this one to wear. She says you've worn the pink one too many times." Liz said handing me the black boho bikini I wore when we went to the water park.

I sighed but took the articles to change into. Beggars can't be choosers. I executed many years of training as I kept my balance and changed while sitting on the dresser. Well, at least that's what I would tell Bex and Macey, but I hopped down and stood on one leg to change. Liz kept watch for me.

We had to wait for Macey and Bex to pack bags for us to take to the water's edge (they only put in fresh towels, we still hadn't unpacked from our early days at the house) and then we had to wait for Macey to braid her hair. After that we had to wait for her to pack her iPod dock and iPod, before finally, finally, we were moving to go down to the beach. At least we almost were.

"Hold up, we need aviators." Bex said running to grab everyone's sunglasses. I stuck mine on my head and then we were on our way.

Zach was waiting at the door to carry me down to the water, I was too eager to do something to mind needing to be carried. He set me down by in a chair by the pool and Bex set my bag down next to me.

"Okay Cam, you're outside. Now what." Bex questioned as the boys jumped into the pool.

"Now, we take the wrap off." I said reaching for my ankle.

"Oh no you don't, the wrap stays on. That's what's going to make your ankle better." Bex said stopping me.

"Well then, the wrap is going to get wet. Help me put my feet in the pool." I said as I moved to climb to my feet. She jumped to keep me from injuring myself further.

"You can put one foot in the water, the uninjured one." She instructed helping me sit on the edge of the pool. I scowled but set my injured ankle to the side.

"You're no fun." I teased splashing her with water.

"You say that like you wouldn't do the same for me." She said with a wink before jumping in the pool.

Macey set up her iPod and dock before coming to sit next to me by the pool. She slipped her feet into the water, but didn't get all the way in.

"Why aren't you going to swim?" I asked.

"All this salt water is damaging my hair. Sitting with you gives me an excuse not to get in." She said with a smile as she rubbed suntan lotion onto her arms and legs. She offered the bottle to me.

"Glad to be of service." I said taking the bottle.

She threw her head back and laughed. "You're funny Cam." She informed me. I flashed my teeth in a smile at her. "And this is one of my things on my list." She said with a grin.

"The summer one?" I said referencing the one she told me about last week.

"The very same." She said with a nod.

"What specific part of this is on the list?" I asked.

"Suntanning with my best friend." She said nudging me and I grinned.

"What else is there?" I asked.

"Shopping, which we're doing tomorrow. Um...a paint fight, messy twister, night swimming, a summer fling with guys that are also best friends, fireworks, star watching, a fancy photoshoot, fancy camping," I cut her off.

"Sounds fancy." I teased.

"Very fancy." She grinned then continued. "Go to the zoo, ride roller coasters, and pull an all-nighter." She finished with flare.

I nodded, thinking over the activities. "Well, we've done a lot of those already. I think the only ones that are left are paint fight, messy twister, star watching, photoshoot, camping, zoo, and roller coasters." I said. "That was a longer than I expected. But we're going to do all of them, every single one." I promised.

She smiled. "Thanks Cam."

"Hey Macey, aren't you going to come in?" Preston called.

"Nope, I'm gonna keep Cammie company." She replied. He frowned and came to pull her in.

"Ohmygosh!" Liz squeaked from where she was swimming by the stairs. "Bex!" She called as she swam to where Macey and I were sitting. She reached us rather quickly, Bex hot on her heels.

"Um…" Liz said uncomfortably looking at Preston. Liz clung to the wall in between me and Macey, Bex treading water behind her.

"Beat it Preston." Bex said none too gently. Preston gave her a look that might have been threatening.

"Sorry Preston, Liz just wants to keep this private." Macey said soothing his ego. He nodded once and swam to where the boys were congregating. They probably wanted to discuss our strange behavior.

"What's up Liz?" I asked curiously.

"Don't look now, my right. Four extremely attractive guys." She said breathlessly.

I slipped my sunglasses on over my eyes and twisted to look in the direction that Liz pointed but made it seem like I was having a conversation with Macey.

"Aww come on Liz, in case you didn't notice there are four extremely attractive guys a whole lot closer" Bex said shaking her head but I didn't fail to notice that she too turned to look.

"Can you see them Mace?" I asked, she could hopefully see them through the reflection on my glasses.

"Tilt your head a little to the right." She instructed running a hand through her hair.

I obliged then set out studying them. "Mace are these the guys you saw that first day?" I asked.

"Yep. The 8.5, 8.75, 9.2, and the 9.5 was I right or what?" She answered.

Oh she was so right. They were also on their beach so they were shirtless. There was a blonde, two brunettes, and an in between. All four were very tall and had very flattering faces. One of the brunette's had amazing cheek bones, the other had an amazing jaw. The blonde had a smile that made me want to swoon from an incredible distance and the last one...wow. The last guy was almost indescribable, he was something from a movie. His entire aura just made you want to be his friend and he had very kind eyes.

"Wow. I wouldn't believe those ratings unless I had seen them myself." Bex said as she completed her study.

"I know." I sighed.

"Uh oh. We may have a problem." Macey said as she snapped us from our study. "Our boyfriends may have caught on to our subtle study." She ran a hand through her hair and I raised my sunglasses from my eyes.

I glanced to look at where the boys were staring at us then across the yard. I caught Zach's eye and gave him a grin and a small finger wave. He narrowed his eyes. Dang it. I kept smiling though.

"They're looking at us." Bex noted.

"Who?" Liz asked.

"The hot ones." Bex said.

"That clears nothing up." I replied.

"The ones across the beach." She clarified. "Well, I guess all of them are. Our boys have been staring us down practically this whole time."

"Hurry, someone say something funny. When we laugh look at those guys over there like we're laughing at them." Macey instructed.

"Grant looks constipated." Liz said not long after and we burst into laughter.

We all looked at the boys across the beach as we laughed then laughed harder. As I glanced subtly at our boys again, they were all looking intently at Preston as if he was explaining something.

"I think we're clear." I said lowering my glasses over my eyes again and turning more towards the pool.

Macey watched our boys just a little longer before giving her nod of approval. We were all good.

Despite our precautions, our boys were apparently still feeling possessive because they swam over to where we still sat, chatting. Grant wrapped his arms around, perhaps a little higher than he normally would've. Jonas set his arm around Liz confidently and pulled her under his arm. Preston and Zach popped out of the pool, Preston laying his head in Macey's lap and Zach pulling my leg over his lap. His hand rested just a tad too high on my leg for it to be nonchalant. I glanced at Macey, begging to her say something so I wouldn't have to.

"Hey guys…" Macey said slowly.

"What's up?" I added.

"Nothing. Just wanted to come see our girls." Zach said nudging my face in his direction so he could kiss me. He was tense and on edge, like an animal on the hunt.

"You okay?" I asked softly.

"Absolutely." He answered flatly. He was lying. He knew that I knew he was lying.

"You sure you don't want to come swim with us Mace?" Preston asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." She replied calmly.

Grant was staring the boys across the beach down. His grip on Bex tightened and she gave me a look that seemed to scream 'do something!'. I had no idea why she thought I could do something, but I had to try.

"Hey Grant." I said trying and failing to gain his attention.

"Hmm." He replied absentmindedly.

"Oi! Granty boy! My face is over here." I said waving my arms.

He reluctantly looked away but Zach took up his post. "Yes Cammie?" He asked overly patient.

"What are you staring at?" I asked bluntly. Better to get this out in the open.

"Nothing." He lied.

"You suck at lying." I said. "Okay, well maybe not but you can't lie to me."

"I was just watching those guys over there. Thought maybe they'd like to hang out, maybe surf with us." He said calmly.

Bex snorted. "Yeah, right." I grinned.

Zach's grip on my leg tightened and I turned to look at him. He was scowling like it would change something. I followed his line of sight and saw the light haired guy across the beach looking at me. We made eye contact and he grinned. I held back a blush and looked away.

"Well if you want to surf with them, why don't you go over there and ask them." Macey suggested playing with Preston's hair.

"Nah I don't wanna surf that bad." Grant said changing his mind.

"I do!" Liz said jumping from the pool.

"Whoa, Liz!" Jonas said rushing to follow her.

Liz quickly grabbed a surfboard and ran across the beach to where the four guys were standing. She let her hair down as she ran, making her look like an absolute beach babe. Jonas was hot on her tail. When they reached the four guys, Jonas carefully slipped his hand around Liz's waist and I could feel her try to avoid boiling. Seconds later, they were all headed out into the surf where mom and Solomon were dominating the waves.

"Well, they're already out there. I'm going." Bex said wrestling herself out of Grant's grasp and going to grab a board with Grant following closely behind.

"Preston, you and Zach should go surf too." Macey suggested.

"Yeah, go show off and be impressive and manly." I said nudging Zach. "But first you have to help me get down to the water's edge so I can watch you show them who's boss." I fluffed Zach's ego trying to get him away so me and Macey could talk.

Macey caught on and followed suit. "Seriously Preston, you could totally out surf these civilians and send them home nursing their pride. Cam and I will watch from shore so you have to do some pretty impressive things if you want us to catch them."

It worked like a charm. "Well...Maybe we should." Preston said turning to look at Zach.

"Yeah...I guess." Zach said watching the four guys with Liz, Bex, Grant, and Jonas.

"Cool, let's go." Macey said climbing to her feet. "I'll carry a board down for you Zach." She and Preston went to go and grab a couple boards as Zach pulled me up into his arms once more.

We walked, well Zach walked, down the beach and he set me down a few feet from where the water licked the shore. I smiled a thank you as we waited for Preston and Macey to catch up. They reached where we sat seconds later and the guys got ready to go out to the water.

"Hey Cam." Zach said as his feet entered the water.

"Yeah, what's up?" I asked.

He threw his board down next to me then dropped to kneel over me and kissed me. I had laid back onto the sand completely and he followed me down. He pulled away slowly and I giggled.

He chuckled and pushed a piece of my hair back behind my ear. I strained my neck up to kiss him one more time. Funny how I was one of the shyest in our group, but Zach and I seemed to spend the most time lip-locked.

"Maybe I'll just stay here." He said nuzzling my neck.

I laughed. "Oh no you don't." I said pushing him off my slightly and sitting up. "I want to watch you surf. Go on, impress me."

He grinned at me once more before getting back up to go surf. The very second they were out of earshot, spy earshot not civilian earshot, I flashed the light off my sunglasses three times calling Liz and Bex back to shore.

"What they heck was that?" I asked Macey.

"My dear Cammie, I do believe we have just witnessed our boyfriends in their jealous state." Macey informed me.

"Well that was certainly" I searched for the word "...enlightening."

"If that's what we're calling 'completely insane' now then yes, that was very enlightening." Macey agreed.

"Why on earth were they so jealous? Are they really so insecure?" I asked.

"We'll discuss in a minute, here come Bex and Liz." She said.

"Well?" Macey asked as they came close enough.

"Well what?" Bex replied.

"How was the surfing going? How were the interactions?" Macey clarified.

"Well, they're certainly trying to show off. Trying to prove they're better than the others. It makes going for waves like a dangerous gamble but Solomon shut that down with one sharp look. I want to hear what Liz was thinking when she took off like a rocket for the four." Bex answered.

"Yeah Lizzie, how did that go?" I asked.

She sighed. "It went very well on their part. Jonas was acting like a leopard protecting his young. But that was even before we got over there."

"We'll get there in a minute, more on the conversation." Macey said.

"Well when I first walked up to them, I told them I was Liz and I introduced Jonas-"

"As your boyfriend?" I asked.

"Yeah." She replied.

"Good, continue." I said gesturing.

"Then they introduced themselves, the one with cheekbones is Cole, the one with the jaw is Peter, the blonde one is Karter he specified that it is with a K, then the light haired one is Will. I asked them if they wanted to surf with us and they agreed and I think you saw the rest."

"Alright and what happened when you guys got out there, Bex?" Macey asked.

"They introduced themselves, I introduced Grant and I as a couple and then that's all we really said." Bex informed us.

"Okay, now can we talk about how possessive the guys were? Do they really distrust us so much?" I asked.

"I don't think that they don't trust us so much as they don't trust them. It wasn't really jealousy so much now that I look back on it, I think it was more staking their claim." Macey said thoughtfully.

"Yeesh I would hate to see what they look like when they're really jealous." Bex mumbled and I agreed.

"So do we need to talk about this with them?" I asked Macey.

"No I don't think so, its just a male dominance thing that they need to do. Like how birds puff up their chests when someone comes to try and steal their mate." Liz put in.

"I would agree with that statement. But I do not want to go back out there." Bex said. "I'm going to go get our bags."

"I'll come with you, we should get the guys stuff too." Liz said and they climbed the few feet back up the beach.

"I'm glad we came out here." I said as I watched Zach surf, the water reflecting off his muscles.

"Me too. We can probably get a good tan out here too." Macey added.

"I'm probably going to a weird tan line from this stupid ace bandage." I said shaking my foot.

"Oi! Careful, you could make your ankle worse and we have a lot we need to do tomorrow." Macey said nudging my arm.

"Ugh. Sorry. So do you think after this encounter it would be safe to take the guys to hangout with Sawyer and the guys?" I asked as Bex and Liz returned.

"Probably. With all that ego fluffing we did, it should be safe to take them to a Calvin Klein event." Macey added sarcastically and the girls and I laughed.

"We'll see if we run into them. I didn't get anyone's contact info." Bex said.

"I did, I have Sam's number." Macey put in. "I can see if they want to come over some time this week and make s'mores and go night swimming or something."

"That would be a ton of fun! We would have to warn them not to tell the guys about the party. I think the real story of how we met would satisfy the guys." I suggested.

"Sounds good, but how would Liz have met them?" Macey asked.

"I didn't really talk to any of them but Sawyer, and if we told them not to mention the party it could just seem like we really hit it off. It would be fine." Liz said.

"Let's do it! I'll ask Mom as soon as she comes to shore." Macey said laying back on the sand. I pulled out my towel and did the same. This summer could not be going better.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Sorry it took so long. Review? Please? Oh, and if I post a new story, will you read it?**

Chapter 22

We sat on the beach for hours. We watched the guys surf, chatted, sang along to the music that came from the speakers, all the while Macey and Bex fought to keep me off my feet. The boys stayed out in the ocean, fighting to show their dominance, Solomon barely keeping them under control. Mom was out there for a while but eventually she gave up and joined us on shore.

After a couple of hours on the beach, it became clear that the boys had no intention of coming in any time soon. So after careful deliberation we decided that we would roast hot dogs over the fire for dinner and then spend a night under the stars.

"Hey Mom, can we see if some of our friends want to come over and surf tonight?" Macey asked. "They're locals and we met them when we ran down to the pier the other day. They seem really nice."

"Sure you can, how many are there?" She asked.

"Three." Macey answered.

"I may regret asking this but are they male or female?" Mom asked with a knowing glint in her eye.

"They're guys." Macey answered innocently enough.

"You girls are going to Solomon a heart attack with the number of guys you seem to make friends with." My mom said shaking their heads. "I think you should check to see that they're okay with it before you invite these boys over." There was no question who 'they' were.

We made careful eye contact before nodding slowly. A condition quickly surfaced in my mind.

"IF they do say it's okay that they come over, can I surf? I'll keep it wrapped and such and I wont walk on it but I want to go out on the water with them. I won't even stand I'll just stay on my knees." I begged.

Mom studied me carefully, glancing at my ankle then at my face to see if I was being honest. I quickly clasped my hands together and put on my puppy dog face, the girls putting themselves in the same position around me. She watched us all before reluctantly nodding.

"YES!" We all exclaimed simultaneously. I must've really gotten on the girls nerves with my constant trying to escape. Bex cheered, then threw me over her shoulder for a victory lap. We ran around the beach with Macey and Liz squealing and cheering us all the way. It appears that we attracted the attention of the boys out in the surf because soon after they were meeting us on shore, Grant in the lead.

"What's going on? Are you guys okay?" Grant asked as the stepped off their boards and ran to where Bex still had me over her shoulder.

"Mom's gonna let me surf!" I exclaimed trying to see over my shoulder.

"Seriously?" He exclaimed. "Sweet!" He pulled me off of Bex's shoulder and spun me around before throwing me over his shoulder and pulling me into a piggy back ride.

We ran out to meet Zach and the others in the shallows, Macey and the girls following behind us.

"Hey guys guess what?" Grant called out to the slowly approaching guys.

"What?" Zach called back before Jonas could start guessing.

"Mom's gonna let Cam surf!" Grant called Back and the guys cheered. Well, our guys cheered.

They swam quickly back to shore and Zach wasted no time taking me from Grant and pulling me to him. I slid from Grants back to Zachs and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Well, this small mercy is conditional. Cam can only surf if you guys agree to something." Liz explained as we stood with our feet in the water.

"What is it?" Preston asked.

"Well...a few days ago when we were down on the pier after the whole...bathroom incident we met these guys on the beach, the guys we were with when you first saw us. We were fast friends and we wanted to hang out with them tonight and so Mom said if you guys agreed to have them over then Cam could surf." Bex explained.

"So what do you think? Please say yes, I can't take anymore of Cam's complaining." Macey added.

"Please. She keeps trying to run away and it's getting harder to hold her down." Liz finished with flare.

Zach laughed and gestured me forward to give him a kiss and I obliged.

"I'm okay with these guys coming. I think." Grant said giving me a smile. "Anything to get Cam in the water with me."

"I'm down." Preston said wrapping an arm around Macey. She reached on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

"I...suppose." Zach said squeezing my thigh. I kissed his neck.

"Tell me more about these guys." Jonas said turning to Liz.

"Liz doesn't know them, it was just us three. There's three of them, Sam, Xavier, and Sawyer. They're locals and live down by the pier." Macey explained.

"I think I know those guys." Cole, the one with the cheekbones, put into the conversation.

"I know that we know those guys, they're a blast." Karter added.

"I don't think I know you…" I said with a smile in their direction.

"Right, Cam this is Cole, Karter, Peter, and Will." Zach said pointing to each of them in turn as if I didn't know their names. He knew that I knew. "Guys this is my girlfriend Cammie."

"Hey." Peter nodded.

"Nice to meet you." Karter added politely.

"What's up." Will said with a grin.

"I'm definitely Cole." Cole said goofily and I smiled.

I wrapped my arms tighter around Zach and he squeezed my legs reassuringly.

"It's nice to meet you guys."

"So Jonas, are you cool with these guys coming?" Liz asked tugging the hand that hung around her shoulder.

"Yeah I guess." He said pecking her cheek.

You know now that I studied these guys better up close they were really nothing compared to our guys. We were crazy, they were probably attractive by public school standards but our Blackthorne boys were so much better.

"Awesome! Macey are you gonna call them?" Bex asked giving her a meaningful look. She wanted to talk.

"Yeah sure, will you guys come with me to find my phone?" She asked looking at all of us.

"Yeah definitely, come on Zach fork over Cammie." Bex said coming to pull me from Zachs back.

Zach pouted and tried to hold on to me. I gave half a fight to make it seem like I really didn't want to go when I was curious to hear what Bex had to say. Eventually Bex got me off of Zach and we started off towards the house, Bex supporting me.

"Hey Cammie, are you okay?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, sprained my ankle earlier so I'm trying not to walk on it. I'm fine though." I said reassuringly, I smiled back at the group for good measure.

"You want me to carry you in Cam?" Zach asked kindly.

"I got her, thanks." Bex said as we walked up the beach.

"You guys keep surfing we'll be back soon." Liz called and they only hesitated a moment before returning to the waves.

"Alright Bex this had better be big." Macey said as soon as we made it out of earshot.

"Now is the perfect time to see what the guys kept tripping over!" Bex pointed out. "Cammie can get the pictures from her Mom, Mace can call the guys, and Liz can help me find out why they kept tripping. It's been bugging me all day."

"Seriously?" Macey asked disbelieving. "Fine. I'd be lying if I said it hasn't been bugging me too."

We finally crossed through the door and split up. Bex deposited me on the couch with my phone and she and Liz ran up the stairs. Macey pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed the number she no doubt memorized the second she heard it. I sat and felt useless until Mom appeared.

"Mom!" I called as she appeared from her room down the hall.

"Cammie!" She replied without missing a step.

"Will you send me those pictures that you've been taking of me and the girls the past week or so?" I asked kindly.

"Will you send them to yourself while I get stuff out for dinner?" She asked tossing me her phone.

"What's the password?" I asked. I knew there would be one.

"The family code." She said as she pulled open the fridge.

See most people would hear that and think that she meant that our family has this secret code that's really cool and spy like and really impressive but what she really meant that her password was the phrase 'thefamilycode' it's a fairly clever trick. I quickly opened her phone and selected the pictures she had taken to send to myself.

There were quite a few, there were the ones she took last night of me and the girls getting ready and a really pretty one of us all holding our dresses. Then there were some other pictures like one of us standing in the bathroom with the shoes on the counter in front of us, our arms around each other. That was from the day we went shopping. There was one of us sitting on the couch when we were watching our movies, and one of us playing cards with the guys. There was even one of all us all on the plane. I sent them all to myself then opened my messages to wait for them to be received.

"What the…?" I mumbled under my breath.

"Something wrong Cam?" Mom asked from the kitchen.

"When did Zach get into my phone?" I asked myself.

"What did Zach do to your phone?" Mom questioned as she came to look over my shoulder.

"He changed the contact names. Only his and the guys' but I have no idea when he did it." I explained. Zach's name was now 'Pookie bear' like the name I put on his case and subsequently Grant's name was now 'Gumdrop'. Jonas and Preston's were pretty obvious Jonas was 'Bookmark' which I found slightly amusing. Preston's was 'Uncle Sam' which was also slightly amusing.

"Hey Macey!" I called hoping that she was off the phone. Luck was on my side because she responded quickly.

"What's up?" She asked coming to sit by me on the couch.

"Did the guys change your contact names?" I asked showing her my phone.

"No, they're still the Mr. Men things. How did Zach get into your phone?" She questioned. "No one would be able to guess your password. It would take even Liz and Jonas like five minutes to get into."

"I have no idea. He might have seen me put it in or maybe I left it unlocked when we were playing the food games or...something. Anyway it doesn't matter now but he changed my contact names." I mused. "Did the guys say they could come?"

"Yeah they'll be here in a few minutes and they won't mention the other night." She said scrolling through the pictures I got from Mom, sending them to herself.

"Sweet! Let's go outside, I wanna surf." I said trying to climb to my feet but Macey didn't hesitate to pull me back down.

"We're waiting for Sam and the guys to get here then we can all go out and surf together." Macey said double checking her own phone to make sure they didn't change her contacts.

"Hey guys!" Bex's voice called from the stairs as she and Liz ran down.

"What'd you guys find?" I asked as the reached the couch and plopped down.

"Absolutely nothing. The only thing that that might make sense is the change in carpet. There's a little tear but I don't see how they could all hit it." Liz said confused.

"I have no clue what it is. We'll have to work it out of them." Bex added.

"Girls do you want to make s'mores tonight?" Mom asked from the kitchen.

"Ask the guys, we don't care." Liz answered for us.

"Well then it looks like we're having s'mores tonight. Solomon will convince them no matter what they want." Mom said pulling out the graham crackers and marshmallows.

"Solomon has a sweet tooth?" I murmured to Liz.

"Apparently...we need to remember that." Liz replied.

"Are the guys coming tonight Mace?" Bex asked as she placed her phone on the table next to Macey's and mine.

"Yeah, they'll be here in a few minutes. I hope they hurry, I get the feeling Cam's about to start up again." Macey answered eying me warily.

"Oh relax, I'll be fine. Mom do we have another ace bandage? We're gonna need it if I'm gonna wear this surfing." I called to the kitchen.

"Yeah, we have quite a few. We'll be fine." She replied absentmindedly. "Girls, we might have to head back to Gallagher." She said out of the blue.

"What?"

"Why?"

"Did something happen?"

"Is everyone okay?"

Our voices overlapped each other, full of concern for our sisters and our school.

"It's not a sure thing, and if we do it won't be for another week or so. Nothing to worry about yet, but I need you girls to be prepared if I suddenly need to go. Promise you won't think too much on it? I'll let you know more when I can, but until then I need you girls to act like professionals on this." She reassured us.

"We promise we'll be good." I said speaking for all of us. "We won't bring it up to the guys either."

"Good. I need to hear it from the rest of you as well." Mom said watching us all carefully.

"I promise." Passed through the lips of Bex, Liz, and Macey without a hint of doing otherwise. We wouldn't tell the guys anyway, we didn't want to freak them out and we liked knowing things they didn't.

"I think I hear a car coming." I said suddenly, trying to jump to my feet.

"Whoa there buckaroo." Bex said catching me before I got too far. She slipped her arm under mine to support me as we limped to the door.

"Cam was right, a car has appeared!" Bex announced as we watched a black truck pull into the driveway, surf boards in the back.

"Exciting." Macey said running up to the door with us, Liz hot on her heels.

"Does this car hold the guys you met at the beach?" Mom asked as she came to stand behind us.

"Um...yes it appears so." Macey said as Sawyer, Sam, and Xavier stepped out of the car.

"Let's go say hi!" I said as I pulled the door open.

"Slowly Cammie, slowly." Bex said helping me cross the porch to the stairs.

"Hey Sawyer!" I called as he reached the steps.

"Hey Cammie! What the heck did you do to your foot?" He asked as he noticed the bandage.

"I sprained my ankle, nothing too bad." I reassured him.

"You're still gonna surf with us right?" Sam asked as he pulled the boards from the back of the car.

"Heck yes!" I exclaimed with fervor.

"Good, I would hate it if I only had Sawyer to out surf." Xavier said cheekily.

"Is this your mom?" Sawyer asked pointing to the woman who was indeed my mother.

"Yeah, guys this is my mom Mrs. Morgan. Mom this is Sawyer, Sam, and Xavier." I said introducing the guys one at a time.

"You can call me Rachel." Mom said as she shook each of their hands. "You guys can go ahead and go out back, we have some other people out back surfing and they'll be glad for the company."

"Thanks, we will." Sawyer said. "Here Cam, I'll give you a hand." He came around to my other side and helped Bex support me as I hobbled outside.

"Hey Xavier, give me a hand with these boards." Sam instructed as he tried to juggle three surf boards.

"Yeah sure." He went to lend Sam a hand while the rest of us went outside.

"Okay, Bex and I still have our boards down on the beach so we just need to grab boards for Mace and Cam." Liz said as we went past the pool.

"Whoa Macey can actually surf?" Sawyer exclaimed quietly.

We laughed but quickly assured him that Macey was an incredible surfer. We grabbed boards as quickly as we could and went down to shore. I deposited my sunglasses on the towel just as Macey joined us with Sam and Xavier right behind her.

"You ready to get out in the water Cam?" Macey asked teasingly.

"So freaking ready." I said anxiously. Liz handed me a board and we started for the water.

"Hold on a second. Just need to clarify some things, you know not to bring up the party right? Not to anyone, not a thing from it?" I asked the guys.

"Yeah, we got it. Any particular reason?" Xavier asked.

"We kind of snuck out to go to that party, no one knew we were there. We'd like to keep it that way, especially from our boyfriends." Macey explained.

"Ah, gotcha. Yeah, don't worry we can keep a secret." Sam said reassuringly.

"Come on Cam, let's get out there. These guys don't believe that you and Liz can really surf better than they can." Sawyer said pulling Liz and I to the surf.

Liz gasped. "How dare they doubt us, we are incredible surfers."

"Seriously! Let's show 'em." Liz and I ran out into the surf, for once no one shouted out after me that I needed to stay off my ankle.

I kind of wish that they had, my ankle was killing me but there was no way I was going to sit on the beach with everyone else out there. We hit the water running and as soon as we could we began to swim out farther into the water. We pulled up next to where Zach, Grant, and Jonas were waiting for a wave with the others right behind us.

"Hey! Where are the other guys?" I asked Zach as I pulled up behind him.

"Cam! They're out proving that they're manly men." Jonas said as Zach hopped from his board to mine.

Zach pressed his lips to mine and cradled my face with his hands. I kissed back eagerly and pulled myself closer to him.

"I'm glad you're out here." He whispered to me.

"Me too." I replied.

"Are these the guys you were telling us about?" Grant asked eying Sam, Sawyer, and Xavier.

"Yeah, this is Sam, Sawyer, and Xavier." Macey said pointing to each guy in turn. "Guys, this is Grant, Bex's boyfriend, Jonas, Liz's boyfriend, and Zach, Cammie's boyfriend."

"Sup." Grant intoned.

"Hey." Jonas said with a nod.

"Hi." Zach said carefully watching the three newcomers. Sawyer recoiled a little bit when Zach's gaze met his, seeming just a bit scared.

I laughed just a little bit when I noticed his reaction and leaned into Zach. "Be nice." I whispered in his ear.

"I am." He replied softly.

"Zach, bro your board's drifting away." Grant pointed out. Zach heaved a sigh before diving off my board to go grab his own.

He caught it swiftly and paddled back to where he sat and when he returned Preston had joined us.

"Hey Preston." Zach said shaking his wet hair. "Have you met the new guys yet?"

"Yeah we were just introduced. The neighbors had to go home just now, something came up so its just the...eleven of us now." Preston said doing the mental math in his head.

"Can we go surf now? Cam's about to explode." Liz said anxiously. She didn't wait for an answer as she took off for the waves.

"Or is it Liz that is about to explode?" Sawyer joked.

I laughed a little bit but followed Liz out after the waves that were approaching.

"Be careful on your ankle Cam!" Zach called out after us.

The next couple hours were pure bliss, mixed with less pain than I thought. Liz and I out surfed Sam and Xavier easily while Sawyer managed to keep up with us rather well. Zach and Jonas somehow managed to keep up with me and Liz who were practically in a trance. Macey, Bex, Grant, Preston, and Sam went to shore after only a few more waves to go play volleyball and not long after Xavier went to join them. Just like the party a few nights before, I felt like I could've stayed in the water forever. I hardly noticed the sun lowering in the sky and when we heard Grant's whistle calling us back to the shore, I didn't want to go.

We took one last wave, riding it all the way back to the shore. As soon as we reached the beach, Zach pulled me off my feet once more and stuck me on his back. He carefully picked up the boards and carried both me and the surf boards up the beach.

"Whoa dude, want a hand there? I can take one of the boards if you want." Sawyer said as he noticed Zach's load.

Grant saved Zach from making a rude retort when he came to take the boards from him.

"It's alright, I got 'em." Grant said pulling the boards under his own arm.

"Thanks." Zach said hoisting me a little higher onto his back.

I wrapped my arms around Zach's neck letting my hands hang just a little lower than they were hanging before. I rested my chin on his shoulder as we hiked up to the fire pit where Mom and Solomon had set up the stuff for hot dogs and s'mores.

Zach deposited me on a chair and went to go grab food but I pulled him back to me. He spun to kneel by the chair he put me, a question in his eyes. In response I simply pulled his mouth to mine and kissed him in thanks.

"You're the best Blackthorne Boy." I whispered to him quietly.

A small twinkle filled his eye as he responded. "It's all for you Gallagher Girl."

I laughed quietly. "You're so lucky the others didn't hear that." I said with a smile.

He chuckled then went to go get food. Macey appeared next to me with two hot dogs on sticks, one for me and one for her. She handed me one stick and we stuck them right into the flame, although perhaps a little more cautiously than Grant whose hot dog was already on fire.

"So, how are you enjoying your limited freedom?" Macey asked.

"I'm enjoying it immensely. How are Preston and Grant handling Sam and Xavier?" I replied.

"Very well. I'm very proud of them. I think after the thing with the other guys earlier, they're a bit more secure." She answered. "I'm going to have to do some deep moisturizing on our hair, this salt water is literally killing our hair. I'll see what I can come up with for tonight. No way are we spending the whole day out tomorrow with hair like this."

"Well, we do have a reputation to uphold." I agreed teasingly.

"I hear that sarcasm." Macey replied with a small smile. "You're lucky I like you."

"Aww come on Mace, you know you love me." I said bumping her with my elbow. She grinned in response. We pulled our hot dogs off the fire and stuck them in buns. I knew that I should eat but I wasn't feeling hungry so I just stuck it on the plate Macey had set by our feet.

"So I have a question." Sawyer said as he went me and Macey. "Cam and this Zach guy, are they like, serious?" He asked Liz curiously.

"Very." Zach said as he brushed past Sawyer and Liz and came to sit by me and Macey. After glancing at the chair he plopped down on the ground by my feet.

I made eye contact with Macey and tried hard not to laugh. She looked cautiously over at Liz and Sawyer and said 'he's bright red' in sign language. It became very hard not to laugh.

Liz however, did laugh. "Yeah, Zach and Cam are pretty serious. About as serious as the rest of us are in our relationships which is pretty darn serious." She explained.

"Why, were you hoping for a chance?" Preston asked from the other end of the table.

"Nah, I just wanted to get a feel for the situation. I have a girl of my own, but Cam seemed pretty into this guy so I wanted to make sure he was into as she was." Sawyer explained.

I looked over at Zach, small question in my eyes. He knew what I was asking. It wasn't a question I really thought I needed to ask, but while it was out in the open...might as well. There were a million ways to answer, a hundred languages, but the one he chose was the one I was looking for. The perfect one. He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me.

Every kiss with Zach was perfect, I don't know how he managed it but they all felt the same and they all managed to make me dizzy, I never wanted them to stop. I quickly cradled his face, keeping his mouth on mine and his hands drifted from my face to my waist, his thumbs rubbing circles on my bare skin. That seemed to be a favorite of his.

"Alright Zach, alright we get it. You and Cammie are into each other, now knock it off before I lose my appetite." Preston said as he took a seat by Macey's feet.

That in no way deterred us from our activities. He tried to pull away, maybe for my sake but when I held him there he just jumped right back in. Macey and Preston groaned and went to throw something at us, probably grapes, but Zach knocked them away before they could hit us. One of Zach's hands dropped from my waist to my leg and Macey yelled for Bex to come and help her pull me off of Zach.

They never got the chance. Solomon cleared his throat and said "Mr. Goode." and we both quickly pulled away. As soon as Solomon's attention was elsewhere I snuck a look at Zach and we both smiled.

"So Cammie, now that you're done making out with Zach, do you wanna tell me why you aren't eating?" Macey asked gesturing to the uneaten hot dog.

"I'm not very hungry." I said honestly.

"I'm calling Bull, you've been in the water for hours. There's no way you aren't hungry, I know you." Bex called from across the fire. "Here, eat these." She said tossing me a little stem of grapes. I caught them effortlessly and stuck one in my mouth.

"Okay, maybe I'm a liar." I said as I realized how hungry I was. I stuffed the grapes in my mouth, the hot dog soon followed.

"Hey Grant." Zach called to his best friend.

"Yeah bro." Grant replied eating nearly half a hot dog in one bite.

"When did you start calling everybody 'bro'?" Zach asked.

"I dunno. Like, yesterday or whenever it was we surfed last. It puts me in this mood where I feel like a stereotypical surfer dude and I need to say stuff like 'bro' and 'hang loose'. Surfer stuff." Grant answered. "Is that really what you wanted to ask me?"

"No, I wanted to see if you could catch this in your mouth from there." Zach said holding up a grape.

"Um heck yes, throw it." Grant replied setting his mound of food on the ground.

Zach obliged and while everyone else was occupied, I took the opportunity to get up and get food. Even amongst friends I was the chameleon and they weren't watching so it was fairly simple to get a plate full of grapes, watermelon, and strawberries. Fruit sounded insanely good.

I returned to my seat just in time to see Grant catch his third grape.

"Hey Bex!" I called holding up a grape of my own.

"Fire away!" She called and I threw it her way. It landed perfectly in her mouth and she held up a grape to throw back in my direction.

"Hey Liz," Macey said brandishing a grape from my plate.

"Hold on a sec." Liz said taking a sip of water. "Okay go." She ordered and Macey threw it. It landed perfectly in her mouth and Liz prepared to throw one to Macey.

"Jo-Bro." Preston said tossing a grape in his direction. Jonas caught on quickly and caught it skillfully. He went to toss one back to Preston and then we were all throwing grapes to each other, even my mom and Solomon.

"Dude this is so intense." Sam said watching us throw an unending stream of fruit to each other.

"Switch!" I called to my girls and I started throwing things to Liz, and her to me with Bex and Macey throwing to each other.

"Holy Crap!" Xavier exclaimed.

"Liz, you and me." Preston called to Liz and they switched. I was now throwing and catching with Jonas.

"Hey Bex, throw to me." Zach called and they switched as well.

"Cammie." Solomon said almost whispering and without missing beat Jonas and I switched.

"This is humanly impossible." Sawyer said quietly and that one phrase was what got us to stop our impromptu training session.

We all suppressed our laughs and chewed as quickly as we could so we could explain. Luckily for all of us Mom finished first.

"Sorry about that boys, a little family tradition that we bring wherever we go. We tend to have quite a bit of practice." Mom explained as we kept chewing.

We all nodded in agreement, the girls and I laughing, then the guys nodded as if they understood.

"So guys, are we getting back in the water when we're done here?" Bex asked as she threw her now empty grape stem into the fire.

"I think we should, but it might be dark. We could get in the pool." Liz suggested.

"We might have to sneak Cammie in then." Grant whispered not very quietly.

"I think they'll let her in." Macey said as she glanced at Mom and Solomon.

"If not, we'll just pull her in and then refuse to let her out." Zach said as he leaned against my leg. He wrapped his arms around my calf and nuzzled against my knee.

"I'm definitely okay with that." I said as I ran my hands through Zach's hair.

"Good because I don't think they were planning on giving you a choice." Macey joked leaning back in her chair.

Mom and Solomon gathered up all the food and such and carried it all into the house, momentarily leaving us alone.

"So Sawyer, you seem to know Cam pretty well. At least, you seem to have taken a gotten pretty good read on her personality." Zach said innocently but I knew he was taking advantage of the lack of adults. Immediately all the girls were subtly on alert.

"Uh, yeah I guess so...I guess I'm just good at reading people." Sawyer answered uncertainly.

Zach laughed a little, then gave Grant a look. Grant then took over the affront, the guys were definitely suspicious.

"Yeah I guess Xavier must be good at it too, he and Bex seemed to have quite a bit to talk about." Grant said lightly.

"Sam and Mace got along well too, crazy how it seems like you guys have spent hours and hours together." Preston added.

The civilians shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

"Yeah...crazy." Sawyer said slowly.

I knew exactly what the boys were doing, it was a simple tactic one of the first you learned. You see, most people respond well to confidence. If you act like you know more than you do, if you act like already know the answer they're more likely to tell you what you want to know if only to save their own skin. Attitude is everything.

As I glanced at our boys I saw them glaring the three civilians down, it would have been scary if I didn't know them so well. I quickly looked at the other girls to see if they had noticed, luckily they had but I knew for a fact the civilians wouldn't last much longer the question was who was going to crack first.

Xavier cracked first.

"Well, we did spend quite a bit of time with them the other night." Xavier hurriedly got out. He sighed in relief when Grant looked away.

"And what exactly were you guys doing the other night?" Preston asked casually as he leaned towards Sam ever so slightly. I glanced at Macey wondering if she was going to do anything about it or let it play its course.

Sam caved quickly. "There was this party on the beach nothing too exciting, not even a party really just a small gathering of friends." He said in a rush, as if getting the words out faster was going to keep Preston from killing him.

"Oh a party how exciting…" Preston drawled turning his glare towards Macey, she returned it quickly after a few seconds of staring at each other they just turned away deciding to discuss it later.

"And what, may I ask, happened at this party?" Zach asked, seemingly casual but I could hear the dangerous undertones in his voice.

Sawyer shrugged. "Normal stuff, we weren't there for very long. It was just like Sam said it was just a small gathering of friends."

"How kind of you, to take three new girls under your wing." Zach said, sickly sweet. No one bothered to correct him on the number of girls.

"Well they were from out of town and they seemed to be looking for an adventure." Sawyer replied quite stupidly. "Of course we didn't know about you at the time." He amended quickly.

"Well we are quite the adventure, aren't we Cam?" Zach said turning to look at me. Oh we would be having quite the conversation later.

"The best one I've had so far." I said sweetly trying to calm him. From the look on his face it didn't work very well so I did the only other thing I could think of, I caressed his cheek and leaned forward to kiss him. It wouldn't make it so he wasn't mad at me but it would make me feel better. I didn't want him mad at me.

"Okay, enough of this. Let's get back in the water." Liz said coming to our rescue.

The sun had started to set when we finally went to go back out to the water. We hurried to climb to our feet and Zach pulled me onto his back, small smile on his face. He would wait to hear the story before he made judgement which I was grateful for. We had started making our way to the water when Mom noticed our movements.

"Hang on a second, where do you guys think you're going?" Mom called as we tried to escape notice.

"We were going to go and surf some more." Jonas said carefully.

"Oh no you aren't, it's getting dark and I do not want to lose anyone in that water. You can swim in the pool but no one's going back into the ocean." Mom said brandishing her headmistresses finger.

"Yes ma'am." We all answered, even Sam and the guys.

We changed course quickly and jumped into the pool. We swam around aimlessly for a while, splashing each other, racing from one end to another, laughing and having a good time. After about over an hour of these ridiculous games and wearing ourselves out completely, Xavier had a fabulous idea.

"Okay, as much fun as this is, I'm completely a prune we should all get out of the water. What do you guys say to a little sand castle building contest?" He cocked an eyebrow and the deal was sealed. We never could resist a challenge.

"Oh, you're so on." Bex accepted.

"It's getting dark out, the sun's practically down." I pointed out.

"It'll make it more fun, a little extra challenge." Zach rebutted.

How are we gonna play this?" Bex asked as we headed for the beach.

"Guys against girls?" Macey suggested.

"Well then we have an unfair advantage." Preston argued.

"Oh please, you guys will need the edge." Liz defended.

"If you're sure...Rules?" Sam put in.

"Only an hour to build, everyone has to participate, you must stay within your designated space." I suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Sawyer agreed.

"Alrighty then, I'll go draw some squares in the sand you guys go find buckets or shovels or something." Bex directed the group of boys.

"Where are we supposed to find that?" Zach called after her.

"Side of the house?" I suggested when Bex didn't reply.

"I'll go check." Jonas said as he wandered off to search.

Moments later the spaces were cleared and the buckets and shovels had been discovered. We split the up the supplies evenly and grabbed a timer. We lined up on the edge of the beach and got ready to run on the count of three.

"One...Two...Three!" Xavier called out and we all ran.

Okay well, everyone else ran I just sort of hobbled. By the time I reached where the girls were set up, they were already working. Macey and Bex were digging a hole to access the wet sand while Liz was undoubtedly working out the dimensions of the castle in her mind.

Seeing as there really wasn't much for me to do yet, I sat down next to Liz and waited for instructions. I glanced over to look at the boys progress and saw that they weren't much farther along than we were.

"Oh, Cammie there you are." Liz said noticing my presence.

I smiled at her. "Hi Liz. What do you want me to do?" I asked her.

"Well, at the moment there's not a whole lot you can do. When Macey and Bex finish with the hole you can pass wet sand over but you aren't allowed to stand so the severely limits what you can help with. Do you want to come up with the designs we sculpt on the castle?" She asked.

"Sure, you know I'm not very artistic though right?" I clarified.

She snorted "Please Cam, you say that like the rest of us are."

"True." I said with a smile.

She gave me a smile then went to see how Bex and Macey were doing on the hole. I decided to stick with simple designs, something we could all do. I drew some swirls and little seashell type patterns into the sand to see what they looked like. Well, they weren't very good but they would do.

When I finished with that, Liz called me over to help pull wet sand out to build. Now one of the hardest parts of building a sand castle was keeping the sand wet enough. A lot of people think that if you get the sand too wet it will ruin the castle but the water turns the sand into some wonderful kind of cement so it's actually a smart idea to have a lot of water. I sat down right on the edge of the hole so I could take handfuls of dripping water out of the hole to hand to my friends.

"Okay is anyone else getting completely drenched in sand?" Macey asked from the middle of our assembly line.

"I think I have more mud than skin on me." I replied.

"Is it supposed to itch this much?" Bex put in jokingly.

"We're definitely all going to need a shower after this." Liz agreed "On the bright side, we're almost done with the base."

"How high are we going to make this thing Liz?" I asked.

"Not very high, I'm going more for width but there will be a few towers almost as tall as I am." She replied nonchalantly.

"Is that all?" Bex asked sarcastically, small smirk on her lips.

"You sure we can get it all done in an hour Liz?" Macey asked worriedly.

"Pretty sure, if we pace ourselves accordingly. We're doing alright so far, if we need to make adjustments it shouldn't be too hard."

And so it went. For the next forty five minutes we slowly but surely turned the wet sand into a castle of considerable size. I honestly am not sure how Liz managed to do it, she is a master of time management and planning. By all accounts, I didn't think it was possible but I should have never underestimated my friend. Now, a sand castle of that height and size used a lot of sand, and I mean a lot so by the time the girls had started working on our last tower our hole was several feet deep and I was hidden from sight.

"Hey guys, where did Cammie go?" Zach called from across the beach.

"She's down there." Macey said, probably gesturing to the hole. I couldn't see her.

"Hey Cam, raise your hand." Zach requested a moment later and I obliged.

"Geez guys, how deep is that hole?" Grant asked.

"Few feet. She's sitting, she has a sprained ankle remember?" Bex replied.

"Still, that's insanely deep. You sure you can get her out of the hole?" Jonas asked cheekily.

"Pretty sure." Liz called back without breaking stride.

"Quit cheating you losers, there's not much time left and we all need to finish." Bex said as she came to the mouth of the hole to get more sand.

"Hey, who's going to judge this contest?" Sawyer asked.

"Solomon." I called from the hole. "Mom might be biased."

"Oh my gosh Cammie, we can barely hear you. You must be really far down there." Sam called.

"Really? I can hear you guys fine." I yelled a little louder. Bex laughed a little then returned to the mouth of the hole.

I handed her more sand and she quickly took it over to Liz and Macey. I shivered. The sun was long gone and it was really starting to get cold.

"Okay Cam, this should be the last sand we need. I hope you don't mind but I saw your designs in the sand and kinda put them on the towers as we built them to save time." Macey said appearing after Bex.

"I'm glad you did, we're seriously almost out of time." I handed her a bit of sand and she smiled before jogging off to give it to Liz.

I heard Liz calling out final instructions to Mace and Bex and I couldn't help but feel a little useless. The timer went off in the distance and Solomon called for everyone to step away from their castles. I wonder how long he's been out here.

"Girls, go get Cammie from the hole." Solomon called to them.

"Ten steps ahead of you." Bex called as she hopped down into the hole. "I'm gonna pass you up to Macey." She informed me as she helped me climb to my feet. As we stood, I realized that when my feet were in the bottom of the hole it went up to my chest. I had carved out a little niche to sit in, so it hadn't seemed that deep before.

"Dang son the castle looks great." I commented as Macey reached for one of my hands.

"Thanks." Liz replied as she grabbed the other hand. I braced my uninjured foot on the edge of the hole with Bex helping me balance from behind. The girls pulled me up and Bex climbed out behind me. We walked over to where we had started as Solomon went out with a flashlight in hand to examine our sandcastles. We waiting in silence and about a minute later he returned with a verdict.

"While the boys definitely had a bigger sandcastle, the girls was more creative. I would say the boys win except for the fact that they have more people so what would ordinarily be a winning castle, I can only see as average for a group their size. Girls win." Solomon said as if describing the weather. The girls and I cheered. "Now, let's go make some s'mores." He stalked off towards the fire.

"Oh come on! I call for a recount!" The boys complained as we reveled in our victory.

"As exciting as this is, can we wash the sand off now?" I asked as we turned to walk towards the fire.

"I second the motion." Macey agreed. Macey helped me hobble to where the outdoor shower stood at the edge of the beach. Bex and Liz followed and seconds later we were all doing our best to get rid of the sand.

"Look at the boys examining our sandcastle. So cute." Macey said as if talking about a clumsy puppy.

"Well aren't they just adorable." Bex agreed in the same tone. "This water hurts." She said gesturing to the wild spray.

"It has good pressure though, so there's always that." I put in as I watched muddy water go down the drain.

"Cam, you have so much sand on you." Liz pointed out with a laugh as she helped me wipe some of it off.

"Well I was sitting in it the whole time!" I exclaimed.

"And we never would've finished in time without you down there." Bex put in.

"Macey, do you have something in mind for our hair." I asked pulling up one of my sandy strands.

"I have a few ideas. They might keep us up pretty late though." She replied.

"Well it's not like we've been going to be super early recently." Bex commented.

"True enough, but we do have a long day ahead of us." Liz responded.

"We can do it. Besides, we can always go to bed earlier tomorrow." I pointed out.

"Pfft, like that's going to happen." Bex snorted and we laughed.

"Come on, let's go get s'mores before Solomon eats everything." Macey turned the water off and tucked an arm under my shoulder. We began to hobble away just as the guys started for the showers.

Macey and I stopped to get towels and turn on music before crossing to put marshmallows on sticks. We took our earlier places by the fire and began to roast the sticky deliciousness. Bex sat down across from us, her first s'more already done. It wasn't really a s'more, it was just graham crackers and chocolate. She hates marshmallows which is extremely confusing because she loves chubby bunny. Liz had stuck her marshmallow right into the fire and let it burn until it was practically charcoal. She says it's better that way. Macey liked to cook her mallows so they were golden on the outside but not completely melted on the inside, whereas I liked mine to practically fall off the stick.

We were all chowing down on our s'mores when the boys finished washing off and joined us by the fire. Zach ran inside with Grant on his heels to do who knows what. Sawyer, Sam, Xavier, Jonas, and Preston all began roasting mallows over the fire.

"Hey Solomon, how many s'mores have you had so far?" I teased as he stuck a stick with two mallows over the fire.

He gave me a small glare but I could tell he wasn't really mad. His glare broke after a few seconds and he smiled. The girls and I laughed as Grant and Zach reappeared with...peanut butter.

Bex and Sam joked about how horrible the others sand castles were, Macey and Liz got in a deep conversation with Xavier about the ethics of surfing and what it was like living by the beach, while Sawyer struck up a conversation with Preston and Jonas about cars. I sat peacefully in my chair trying not to show how much my ankle hurt.

Mom appeared behind me a few seconds after the conversations erupted around us.

"Here, take these. They're painkillers." She handed me two pills and a cup of water.

"Thank you." I whispered to her.

"You're welcome." She whispered back.

Zach appeared not long after Mom with sticky concoctions in his hands.

"Try this." He said handing me a s'more.

"What did you do to it?" I asked taking it carefully.

"I put peanut butter on it. It's good, I swear." He said taking a huge bite of his own.

I gave him a disbelieving look but took a bite anyway. He was right, it was insanely good.

"How did you figure this out?" I asked shaking the s'more lightly before taking another bite.

"I didn't, Grant did. He showed this to us a while ago. I'm warning you though, you can never go back. Other s'mores won't taste as good now." He explained.

"I'm completely okay with this."

"Hey Zach, don't you think that the '87 model was much better…" Jonas began, pulling Zach into their conversation. I fell back into my peaceful silence. The throbbing in my ankle had gone down some, but it still hurt. Maybe I shouldn't have surfed.

"Cammie." Solomon said stepping up beside my chair with a bag of ice in his hand. He pulled my ankle out to rest it on the arm of Macey's chair and rested the ice on top of it. "Your sprain is probably worse than we originally thought. I want to look at it again tonight before you go to bed. Keep this ice on it and stay off it for the rest of the night."

"Thanks Mr. Solomon." I said with a smile. He patted my shoulder reassuringly then went to stand by Mom again.

I lounged in my chair the best I could and laid my head back. I was seriously starting to get tired. Finally, the conversations started to merge and we began to discuss what to do next.

"It's getting late and it's supposed to be cold tonight." Preston was arguing. "I think we should just go inside and watch a movie. Besides Cam's not supposed to be on her ankle."

"Cam doesn't care what we do, but if you choose something just because Cam is injured she'll flip." Macey answered, knowing I would say the same thing.

"Well, we have to take off soon anyway in like five minutes so don't look at us." Sam said speaking for the group.

"Okay well Mom's gonna come out here any second and call us in so why don't we save her the trouble and go start a movie? I'm tired." Grant said rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, and we'll take off and see you guys later. Or, eventually I suppose." Xavier said climbing to his feet we said our goodbyes as we walked them to the door.

"We should definitely hang out again sometime. Go down to the pier or maybe we'll take you to the local haunts." Sawyer told me and Zach as we made for the front door.

"For sure, we need to stay in touch. We had a blast tonight." Zach answered as my head rested on his shoulder.

"Thanks for having us over, it really was a blast." We had reached the front door, and our final goodbye's were being said.

"I hope we see you soon Sawyer." Zach said as the shook hands.

"I hope your ankle feels better Cam. Bye Zach." Sawyer was the last one out the door.

"That was one of the most exhausting situations of my life." Bex said as she shut the door behind them.

"I would agree with that statement." I said nodding.

"Let's go start a movie." Jonas said rubbing his eyes.

"We're all wet." Liz pointed out.

"We'll lay towels down." Macey said stumbling towards the couch. "I'm too tired to change now." We all followed.

Towels were quickly laid on the couch and we all piled on top of them. Jonas, Liz, Zach, and I were on one couch with Preston, Macey, Bex, and Grant on the other. Jonas had stuck a random movie in the player so we were watching some Adam Sandler movie, it was funny and such but we were too tired to laugh much. Except for Jonas, didn't see that one coming.

About halfway through the movie, Macey caught her second wind which meant it was time to get ready for bed before she crashed.

"Alright girls, let's head upstairs. We have a lot to do tonight to get ready for tomorrow and Cam looks like she's ready to drop." Macey instructed climbing to her feet. She pulled a groaning Bex up after her and Liz sighed from where she sat curled up next to Jonas before climbing to her feet..

I had leaned up against Zachs shoulder, who had fallen asleep, with his arm tightly around me. I was still in my bikini and it was insanely cold. I had no intention of moving so when Bex appeared in front of me to pull me up with them I simply shook my head and stayed where I was.

"Cammie's going to be stubborn again." Bex called to Macey. "She won't move."

"Ugh. Come on Cam, you need to shower and then you can go to bed." Macey tried reasoning. I once again shook my head.

Bex sighed. "Grant, help us get her upstairs?" She asked with a hip popped and innocence on her face. It didn't seem like he was going to do it but she batted her eyelashes and he was hooked.

He climbed to his feet and came to stand in front of where I sat with Zach. He reached down and pulled at my waist so he could easily throw my over his shoulder.

"No." I groaned as I grabbed Zachs arm and tugged.

He gave a small grunt of recognition, but didn't move. As Grant started to pull me away from his side he noticed what was going on and wrapped his arms tightly around my waist. Unfortunately, Grant had had time to get a better grip on me than Zach so he pulled me up and over his shoulder before Zach could pull me back down.

"Come on, Cammie-bear." Grant said as he threw me over his shoulder. I whimpered a little as he followed Bex up the stairs.

"We should probably go upstairs too." Preston said from where he sat but he made no move to get up.

"Yeah probably." Jonas said but he too stayed put.

We climbed up to the top of the steps and entered our room.

"Where do you want me to put her?" Grant asked.

"Just set her down nice on the floor." Bex said and Grant obliged.

"Okay, I'm headed back down." He said after he had dropped me.

"Okay." Bex said as he crossed to the door. She glanced once over her shoulder, Macey and Liz had crossed to the bathroom and she probably wanted to make sure they weren't back yet, she called to him once. "Hey. Thanks." She said gesturing to me when he turned.

He smiled once and nodded but she wasn't going to let him get away yet. She grabbed his arm with one hand and wrapped the other around the back of his neck. She pulled him down for an extremely sweet kiss that quickly turned to something more than sweet. Macey came in just in time, it was about to get awkward up in there.

"Bex, come give us a hand." Macey said appearing in the doorway, and Bex reluctantly pulled away from Grant.

"You too Cammie, chop chop." Macey called as she toed me from my resting position. I was less hesitant to get up this time. It wasn't as comfortable without Zach.

I hobbled behind Bex and Macey as we entered the bathroom to get ready for bed.

"Alrighty, you girls need to apply this to your hair and rinse it out when you get in the shower. It only needs to stay in for five minutes to work it's magic. Liz is gonna shower first cause she already has this stuff in her hair then me then Bex then Cam. Sound good? Shower fast, we need to go to bed." Macey said showing us a bottle.

"Solomon wants to look at my ankle before we go to bed." I grumbled. I hated being injured. "I'll go see if he'll do it now though."

"Okay sounds good. Please tell me you aren't going back downstairs though." Macey pleaded.

"I'm not. I was planning on yelling from the top of the stairs." I replied.

"I'll come with you." Bex said running a hand through her hair. "In case they do need you to go down."

"Thanks." I said smiling at her. She grinned back at me and bumped me with her shoulder.

"You'd do the same for me." She said knowingly.

She helped me hobble out into the hallway to the top of the stairs. I braced my hands the waist high wall and bent my leg at the knee to lift my injured ankle.

"Hey Mr. Solomon!" I called.

He appeared silently at the bottom of the stairs from down the hallway. He saw Bex and I standing there and beckoned me to come down the stairs. I gave an exasperated sigh and Bex and I exchanged a look. After our eye roll, Bex wrapped an arm around my waist to help me hop down the stairs.

"My balance is going to be excellent after this." I mumbled under my breath.

"It'd better be." Bex agreed.

By the time we reached the bottom of the steps Mr. Solomon had pulled two chairs out from under the table and turned them around so they faced each other. Bex helped me hobble to the chair and I sat down then Solomon sat down across from me. Solomon pulled up my foot and rested it on his knee. He carefully unwrapped the bandage, but he had to rotate my ankle slightly to do so. My flash of pain didn't escape his notice.

"Are you okay Miss Morgan?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I replied.

He gave me a look but turned back to my ankle. As soon as the bandage was removed he tested my ankle, and lower leg and then even my knee. He tested each of them three times then renewed his diagnosis.

"The sprain is worse than we originally thought but it's not broken. It may have have also twisted a muscle in your leg. I'm afraid I must insist you push back your plans for a day." He informed us with a solemn look.

"I don't want to be the one to tell Macey." I mumbled under my breath.

"Me either." Bex agreed.

"I'm sure she will understand. I'm going to wrap this for you and Miss Baxter will have to help you up the stairs."

"Can I wait to wrap it until after I shower?" I asked.

"If that's what you wish." He said with a nod.

"Okay, come on Cam I'll help you get upstairs." Bex said rubbing her eyes. I grabbed her arm and she pulled me up to my feet.

As soon as Bex had pulled me onto my foot, we both immediately began to fall. Solomon managed to grab us before we fell but it was painfully obvious that there was no way Bex was going to be able to get us both up the stairs.

"Miss Baxter, can you get up the stairs yourself?" Solomon asked.

"Yeah, don't worry Solomon I'll get Cam and I up the stairs safe and sound." Bex tried to argue.

"That's alright Miss Baxter, I'll help Miss morgan up the stairs. You go and inform Miss McHenry of the change in plans." Solomon reassured her.

She heaved a sigh but nodded. "Yes sir." She replied.

Bex spun on her heel and turned for the stairs.

"Sit here for a second Cammie." Solomon said as placed my ankle on the chair he was sitting on. He grabbed a towel and wrapped some ice cubes in it.

"Hold this." He handed me the towel then pulled me to my feet. "I suppose you can't jump onto my back, can you?" He asked with a smile.

"It's probably not the best idea." I replied with a grin.

"I'll help her up." Mom said appearing from her room down the hall. "Come on darlin, take a walk with your momma." She reached for my hand then pulled me up under her arm.

I carried my ice with me as we hopped up the stairs and back into our room. Macey had just gotten into the shower when we reached our room and Bex waited for me to help me rub the moisturizing stuff into my hair. I thanked my mom for the help and sat on the dresser.

"Well that was an adventure." I commented as I leaned back against the wall.

"You know I think I'm the only person that hates it when you're injured more than you do." Bex agreed.

"I think you're right." I nodded with her. "Is this stuff really supposed to help our hair?"

"Supposedly yes, but it's going to take more than once according to Macey. We'll have to do this every night apparently." Bex explained.

"Well isn't that great. Is Macey almost done? I'm really about to fall asleep." I asked.

"I think so. I'll shower fast for you." Bex said, promising to help me get to bed faster.

"We should go set out pajamas for after. It'll get us to bed faster." I suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Bex said reaching to help me off the dresser.

"Are you going to make me fall again?" I asked before accepting her help.

"No, I promise we will stay on our feet." Bex said, hand still out stretched.

"Okay then." I grabbed her hand and hopped down. Miraculously we stayed standing.

We ran into the bathroom and Bex showed me how to properly apply the moisturizer. We finished just as Macey got out of the shower. Bex hurried to get into the shower while I waited for her on the bathroom counter. While she showered, we chatted.

"So how did Macey react to the change of plans?" I asked.

"Better than expected. I think she already has something else planned for tomorrow." She replied.

"Really? Any idea what?" I questioned.

"None. Something exciting I'm sure." She answered dryly.

"Probably some replenishing thing with our hair and skin. It's starting to be affected by the salt water according to Macey." I mused.

"Probably. I'm actually 100% okay with that because my hair is starting to hate me. I've never had it tangle so easily in my life." Bex commented.

"I'm kind of exhausted." I mentioned.

"Yeah I don't blame you, I am too. We'll hopefully get to sleep in tomorrow." Bex agreed.

"Are you almost done?" I asked as I popped my back and winced.

"Yeah, just about." She replied. "Hey, do you wanna rub my back?"

"Sure, if you rub mine. My muscles are killing me. Maybe we'll get lucky and Macey's plans for tomorrow involve a spa." I joked.

"Maybe we'll get really lucky and your mom will take us to an overnight one this weekend." Bex added.

"We should ask her, to see if we can. That would make my week." I sighed rubbing my leg to loosen the muscles.

"All four of us have to ask though, she'll be more likely to say yes that way." Bex mentioned.

"True. I'm sure Macey and Liz will go for it." I commented.

"Oh yeah they definitely will." She turned the water off and I shut my eyes while she got out of the shower.

"Your turn." She said pulling back the shower curtain. "Do you need me to stay and help?" She asked kindly.

"Nah I'm good. Go talk to Liz and Mace about the spa thing." I said gesturing to the door. "And see if Liz will lay out some pajamas for me!" I called as the door shut behind her.

A good five minutes later, I was all showered and changed and waiting for Solomon to change my ace bandage. Liz was brushing my hair out when he appeared.

A single knock came on the door and Bex went to open it.

"Good evening ladies." He said kindly.

"Good evening Mr. Solomon." We toned in reply.

"Don't worry girls, I won't be here long." He knelt in front of me and pulled out an ace bandage and carefully began to wrap my ankle.

"Okay, I'm going to make sure everything is off. It's definitely time for bed." Macey said as she crossed through the bathroom to turn off the lights.

"I'll go find our phones." Bex informed us as she followed Macey.

Liz just continued to brush my hair and by the time Bex and Macey returned, Solomon was done wrapping my ankle.

"Cam, you have a text from Zach." Bex said tossing me my phone.

"Why does he do that, he's literally right across the hall." I mumbled under my breath. Unfortunately everyone in the room was a trained spy so they all heard me.

Solomon chuckled on the way out. "Goodnight ladies."

"Goodnight Mr. Solomon." We replied as the door shut behind him.

"What's it say Cam?" Liz asked as I replied to Zach's goodnight text.

"'Goodnight Gallagher Girl.'" I read outloud.

"I'm so glad he added the Gallagher Girl." Bex said picking up her phone.

"What are you saying?" Macey asked.

"'Goodnight Zachy-poo(;'" Bex said in a lovey dovey voice.

We all giggled at the response. "Okay, let's go to bed before Zach decides to break up with me." I joked as I climbed under the covers.

Macey turned the light off then hopped into bed next to Bex.

"Hey guys. Did anyone talk to their Blackthorne Boy about the party yet?" Liz asked quietly.

We all voiced our 'no's'. Tomorrow was going to be one heck of a day.


	23. Chapter 23

**AN: Sorry it took so long to update, but I had surgery and couldn't write! Also, sorry it's so short but it was necessary. **

Chapter 23

"Alright girls, up, up, up we've got one heck of a day ahead of us." Macey called at way too early the next morning.

"What time is it?" I mumbled.

"Time to wake up." Macey answered.

"Okay, okay. I'm up." Bex groaned sitting up.

"What are we even doing today?" I asked following Bex's example and sitting up.

"We're going to figure out what the heck is going on at Gallagher, and why we might have to leave early without extracting suspicion." Macey replied as she started shaking Liz.

Liz let out a tiny meowl at being moved before rolling over and sitting up.

"Your hair looks like a lion's mane." I mentioned to Liz.

"You've got a red mark across your face from your pillow." Liz mentioned back.

"Bex has drool on her chin." I added.

"Macey actually looks rumpled for once." Liz agreed.

"Well aren't we all just a vision in the morning." Macey said dryly.

"Okay, moving past our bed head, do you have a plan for how we're supposed to pull off this miracle you seem to have planned?" Bex asked referencing Macey's list of things to do today.

"We take shifts. Move it turns. One of us distracting Mom and Solomon at a time, another distracting the boys, and the other two figuring out what exactly has got Mom so freaking." Macey explained.

"I get the feeling you already decided who's going to do what." I mentioned as I climbed to retrieve my phone and practically fell when I tried to stand.

"I get the feeling Cammie's one of the ones searching." Liz observed.

"You are both correct." Macey revealed as she bent to get my phone for me. "Cammie and Liz will search, Bex is our boys doggie treat, and I'm on parent patrol."

"I'm a doggie treat?" Bex said incredulously. "How exactly am I supposed to distract all four of them at once?"

"With the only thing every boy enjoys."

"Macey no matter how important this is, I'm not going that far especially with your guys' boyfriends." Bex explained carefully.

"I meant VIOLENCE." Macey said enunciating very carefully.

"Oh thank the stars." Bex sighed in relief.

"How do you plan on distracting Mom and Solomon?" I asked.

"You leave that to me. You and Lizzie however have the hardest part. Bex and I will tell the guys and the 'rents that Liz isn't feeling well and your ankle hurts too bad to do anything today so hopefully you can just hole up here for the day. They may want to come up for a surprise visit, we'll try to give you warning but have a plan set up in case they barge in." Macey instructed.

"Does that mean we can stay in our pajamas all day?" Liz asked excitedly.

"Yes you can stay in your ugly sweats all day." Macey sighed. Liz and I exchanged high fives.

"So when do we go down to break the bad news? And when did we decide to start calling Mom and Solomon 'the 'rents'?" Bex asked.

"Good question. To the second one, not the first." I put in.

"We go down as soon as you're ready and calling the two of them 'the 'rents' just feels right." Macey informed us.

"I concur." Liz agreed as she began to pull her head into a braid.

"Alright well I want food so let's go down now. We'll send something up for you guys. Keep your phones on you." Bex said as she pulled on some socks and crossed to the door.

"Hand me my laptop before you go?" Liz asked as we rearranged ourselves more comfortably.

Macey retrieved the electronic and handed it to her before following Bex down the stairs.

"You have your phone on you right?" Liz asked.

"Yeah, why?" I said holding it up for proof.

"Mines still over by the bathroom door." Liz said gesturing.

"Well then let's hope they text me instead of you. What do you have planned? On the tech side of things I mean." I asked.

"Well, we don't have much to go on. I was thinking I would start on the CIA base and see what Gallagher's been tagged in and if there's nothing important then I'll try to get into Gallagher's without leaving a trail. I might need your help with that if it goes that far." She explained.

"You think it's going to take all day?" I wondered.

"If we're lucky, no. If we're not lucky...we may have a long night ahead of us." She began pulling up files and and opening programs.

"What's our back up plan?"

"I'll set a shortcut on the keyboard and it'll send us to a video game. If we had movies it could send us to that, maybe Macey will bring us some later." She explained as she pulled up a browser with an old mario game on it and set the shortcut.

My phone buzzed once. Text from Bex or Macey.

"Solomon's on his way up." I informed Liz as I pulled my leg out from under the blankets and deleted the text.

Sure enough, seconds later a knock came on the door. After double checking that we were decent, we called for him to come in.

"Hello ladies how are you today?" He asked politely, closing the door behind him.

"We've been better." Liz said with a small smile.

"Cam, would you mind if I re-examine your ankle?" He asked gesturing to the ace bandage that still held my ankle secure.

"Of course." I said sitting up and moving closer to the end of the bed for him to reach my ankle.

He gently removed the bandage and examined my ankle. He turned it and twisted it and felt along the bone. After a couple of moments he returned my ankle to me and backed up.

"I hold to my earlier diagnosis. You need to spend the day in bed, no arguments." He informed me.

I feigned irritation and sadness but inside I was glad I could spend the day with Liz. She would need the help.

"What's ailing you Miss Sutton?" Mr Solomon asked nicely.

"I believe nothing more than a common cold but the symptoms are too immature to tell. I decided to rest today to be safe and to keep Cam company. Hopefully nothing develops." Liz answered sweetly.

"I hope you ladies feel better. If you need anything, let me know." Solomon said kindly before exiting the room.

I let out a breath. "Okay, let's do this." Liz hit a few keys and then I watched the magic unfold.

Let me tell you something about Liz, she's a genius. I know people use that word a lot like "Einstein was a genius" or "Wow! You're a genius!" but Liz is a legitimate genius, and not only that but she's like the queen of the genius'. I've honestly never met someone so smart or someone that can do what they do better than Liz. She was born for this.

It's always incredible to watch a master musician play their instrument or a gifted athlete play their chosen sport. That's what it was like to watch Liz at her computer. It was beautiful, in a strange way. It was like watching an artist paint a masterpiece. Nothing compares. I could see how Liz always lost herself in her work because before I knew it, hours had past and it seemed like mere seconds.

A vibration was all it took to jolt me out of my trance. I pulled out my phone to find a text from Bex. Zach was on his way up.

"Liz, Zach's coming." I warned her and she quickly finished the line of code she was currently writing before hitting the short cut and changing the screen back to the video game.

I feigned intense interest and waited for Zach to come in. I didn't expect him to knock and luckily neither did Liz so neither of us were very surprised when Zach slipped silently into the room, closing the door behind him.

"Hey Gallagher Girl." Zach called softly.

"Hi Zach." Liz replied and I chuckled.

"E tu, brute?" Zach quoted as he gave Liz a look of utter betrayal.

"Hi Zach." I echoed and turned to look at him.

He grinned. "Hi. How's the ankle?"

"Well, still sprained unfortunately." I replied as I glared at the offending ankle.

"How dare it." He joked before sitting on the end of the bed and placing my sore ankle on his lap.

"I'm seriously considering replacing it with an ankle that can function better if it doesn't pull itself together." I replied, keeping the joke going.

He grinned. "How are you, really?" He asked, all seriousness.

"I'm good. Better now that I'm not the only one confined to bed rest." I said gesturing to Liz.

"I'm glad." He ran his fingers up and down my calf.

"How are you?" I asked, focusing on anything other than his wandering hand.

"Dead bored with you stuck up here." He replied, rubbing circles in my knee.

"Do you think you can survive the day without me?" I teased.

"I don't know...but I think I'll find a way to carry on." He teased back.

"Well, if you need me desperately I do have a phone." I reminded him.

"Very true, but as I recall you are truly horrible at keeping in contact with me through the phone your mother paid good money for." He pointed out.

"True. Isn't Bex keeping you occupied? She promised she would." I asked.

"Ah yes, hours of sparring to keep us all interested and when that fails, good old fashioned competition. She is a real charmer, your Bex." He said charmingly.

I grinned. "Try not to be hard on her, she's just keeping a promise to one of her best friends. It would be amazing if you went along with it." I mentioned hopefully.

He let out a dramatic sigh. "Oh the things one will go through for the one he cares for. If I end up with any broken bones, I'm afraid I will blame you." He moaned.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take." I smiled at him and leaned forward to kiss him.

He reacted excitedly and I probably could've stayed like that all day if it weren't for Liz. She let out a cough and we reluctantly pulled apart.

"Do I have to go back to spar with Bex?" Zach whispered to me, our foreheads touching.

"I wish I could say no…" I replied honestly. His hand reached up to brush my cheek.

"I wish you would...I could stay here forever and be happy." He told me quietly.

"So could I...but you have a Bex to keep occupied and I have a Liz to keep company." I reminded him.

"One day...one day you'll have to keep me company. Just you and me. I promise." He told me gently.

"I look forward to it." I replied.

"As do I...do you promise you'll be there?" He asked.

"As you wish." I whispered and stroked his jaw line, staring into his eyes.

He grinned wildly then leaned forward to kiss me once more. I never wanted to be the kind of girl that melted in a boy's arms, but I can say truthfully that I will always want to be the girl that melted into the arms of Zachary Goode and could in turn make him melt in mine.

I don't know how long we sat there, but I wanted it to last forever. A gentle knock on the door broke us apart.

"Zach, bro? Bex is starting to flip." Grant's voice came from the hall.

I sighed as he promised that he was coming. His lips met mine once more, and then he was gone.

"You okay Cam?" Liz asked with a smile as she returned to the code.

"I am over the moon." I replied honestly as I lounged once more on the pillows, a green eyed boy on my mind.

The day ended with good news and bad news. Good news? We weren't caught as we broke into the CIA and Gallagher databases. Bad news? We didn't get any information on what could be wrong at Gallagher. Like at all. So it was with heavy faces that we informed Macey and Bex that their day of distraction had essentially been for nothing.

"Bloody...well bang goes that line of inquiry." Bex said as she flopped onto the mattress.

"Well...I guess all that's left is to wait and see. Maybe nothing will come of it." Macey mentioned rubbing a hand over her face.

"Maybe…" Liz agreed. Macey took a deep breath.

"Okay, nothing we can do about it now. Let's focus on what we can control. We've got a big day of shopping ahead of us tomorrow. You guys ready?" Macey asked.

"Umm...in what way?" I asked curiously.

"Do you have a game plan in mind, places you want to go?" She clarified.

"Didn't we already plan all that out?" Bex asked, confused.

Macey got a confused look on her face. "Yeah...yeah we did. Right. Well, are you ready for our long day of shopping then? It could get intense."

"Yeah, we're as ready as we'll ever be." I informed her, a little worried.

"Okay well then, let's get some rest. Liz had a long day of computering and Bex had a long day of sparring and I just had a long day over all." Macey said rubbing her head.

"I'll hit the light." Bex said as Macey dropped onto the mattress and crawled under the covers.

Soon we were all asleep.

Hours later, a light chirping noise came from Macey's phone alerting us that it was time to start the day.

"Macey, your alarm sucks." I informed her as the incessant chirping continued.

Seconds went by. "Seriously Mace, are you going to turn it off or what?" Bex asked irritably.

Not a sound came from Macey.

"Mace?" Liz asked, concerned. All three of our heads popped off the pillow as we crowded around our best friend.

"Macey?" I asked a little louder, shaking her shoulder. She didn't move.

"Oh my gosh." Bex said flipping Macey onto her back.

"Mace? Macey, can you hear me?" Liz asked as I checked her heart rate and breath.

"She's breathing and her pulse is steady." I informed them.

"Well then what's bloody wrong with her?" Bex asked loudly.

"I'm going to get my mom." I said jumping to me feet, ignoring my sore ankle.

"Hurry!" Liz exclaimed, and I ran.

"MOM!" I yelled as I made my way to the top of the stairs.

"Cammie?" She replied quickly "What's wrong?"

"Macey won't wake up! Something's wrong with her!" I informed her.

She paled. "Get her to the car, we've got to get to Gallagher. The boys are all on a run you and Bex will have to carry her." She informed me as she made her way to her room, probably to grab her purse.

I nodded, pointlessly, and made my way back to the room the girls and I shared.

"Bex, we've got to get Macey down to the car. We're going back to Gallagher."


	24. Chapter 24

**AN: Hey guys, quick question, I'm looking to start some new stories and was wondering if there was a particular cliche story you wanted me to write. I'm open to all ideas and if you have one in mind, just shoot me a message or leave a comment! **

Chapter 24

Bex and I quickly grabbed Macey, one of her arms over one of our shoulders then lifting her thighs onto our forearms, before crossing through the door to the stairs.

"Liz, run and get the doors for us." I asked as we stumbled to carry a dead weight Macey down the stairs.

We got her down the stairs and out the front door by the time my mom re-appeared. She was speaking swiftly and clearly into the phone, making flight plans. She started the car before helping us get Macey into the back seat. Bex climbed in on her right and I climbed in on her left, after buckling Macey in carefully we were off.

"Mom, what's going on?" I asked, she obviously knew more than she was saying.

"I promise I will explain but not until we get Macey to Gallagher. We need to make sure she's okay before anything else. Pulse?" She asked.

"Strong and steady." Bex replied.

"You knew something like this might happen, didn't you?" I challenged.

"Cammie please, not now." Mom said tersely. The car sped up.

"How long until we reach the airport?" Liz asked.

"About 25 minutes." Mom informed her as the car continued to gain speed.

"Will the plane be ready to take off?" I inquired.

"Yes. We'll be back at Gallagher in about an hour and forty five minutes. Macey will be fine." I couldn't tell if she was trying to reassure herself or us.

The car ride was tense and no one said a word. When we reached the airport Mom pulled straight up to the jet that would be taking us back to Gallagher. I don't know how she managed to commandeer it, but the jet that was taking us back to Virginia would get us there in about half the time it took us to get to Florida. I couldn't even marvel at the beautiful piece of machinery, Macey's pulse was beginning to lull.

"Mom…" I said, voice full of worry.

"Get her on the plane girls, it's going to be okay." She said calmly.

Bex and I gave each other a look before gently picking Macey up and carrying her into the plane, Liz leading the way. Liz helped us lay Macey in a seat and we let it recline slightly before strapping her in. We all anxiously took seats near her and waited for the plane to take off.

Bex's leg kept jittering. "What's taking so long?" She growled as she went to look out a window for my mom.

"Well?" I asked when she didn't say anything.

"She's on the phone with someone. Probably Solomon." Bex answered. "I wish she would hurry up."

"We all do." Liz said calmly as I nervously checked Macey's temperature.

"Does anyone have a brush?" Bex asked as she watched me.

"Why on earth would you need a brush right now?" I snapped irritably.

"There's absolutely no way Macey would let us out of the house like this, she'd be more upset if she thought we took her out in the same condition." Bex explained as she crossed and wiped the sleep from the corner of Macey's eyes.

She was right.

"I think I have one. I grabbed my laptop bag before we ran." Liz explained as she searched for a brush. "No brush, I have a comb though."

"That'll do." Bex took it and began gently combing through her hair.

I looked for something else I could do. Macey always thoroughly removed her makeup before bed but...mascara was smeared under her eyes. Odd. I gently began to wipe it away with my fingers, careful not to jab her eye.

"Cam will you braid her hair? You're better at french than I am." Bex asked.

"Yeah, hold her head up?" I replied.

She nodded and gently lifted our friends head off the seat. I quickly but efficiently french braided Macey's hair, careful not to tug it too hard because Macey has a soft head. By the time we finished my mom was aboard the plane and we were ready to take off.

"Buckle up girls." She ordered before taking a seat and putting on her own seatbelt.

Moments later we were in the air and headed for Gallagher, but I was restless. We had no idea what was going on, and there was nothing we could do to help Macey. I knew questioning my mom was pointless but I had to do something.

"Do you know what's wrong with Macey?" I asked from the other side of the plane.

"Not now Cammie." Was her short reply.

"What can you tell us?" I tried again.

"That Macey will be okay. Don't worry Cam." She replied.

I looked at Bex and signed 'Don't worry?! How the heck am I supposed to do that?'

Bex replied quickly. 'Try again!' She signed. She was just as anxious to fix Macey.

"Is anything like this going to happen to us?" I inquired in a calmer voice, adding just a touch of fear.

"It could. It's unlikely." She replied turning to look out the window.

Well I was not expecting that answer. Liz motioned both Bex and I to come and sit on either side of her. She pulled out her laptop and opened a blank document. She began to type out what she was too afraid to say.

What's going to happen to us? To Macey?

I looked at Macey, then grabbed the laptop to reply.

We're going to be fine Liz. Don't worry. My mom seems to have an idea of what's going on, even if she's not sharing. I think she anticipated this.

Bex grabbed the laptop next.

What's going on? Are we subjects to some experiment that we don't know about? Isn't that illegal.

I gave Bex a look that said 'We're spies, a good chunk of what we do is illegal.' She shrugged as if to say 'It's a valid question.' Liz grabbed the laptop from Bex.

It's entirely possible that Macey agreed to be tested for something while we were all split up yesterday. She would have done anything to keep the 'rents distracted.

I sighed. I knew it was true. It was too true. Macey was an incredible spy, she was really dedicated to everything she did. It's part of what made her such a great friend.

I didn't grab the laptop to respond. I didn't want to play guessing games anymore. I was terrified for Macey.

"Macey's gonna be so ticked we can't go shopping." Bex said, out of the blue.

I couldn't help it, I started laughing. I laughed harder than I would've thought possible, Liz's little tinkling laugh joining in with mine.

"What? It's true!" Bex exclaimed as she tried to avoid laughing with us but eventually she gave up and laughed with us.

We laughed and giggled until tears were falling from our eyes. That's when the truth of it really hit us. Macey was in a coma. She might not wake up, and while my mom might know why she was in the coma there was no guarantee that she could wake her up again. We stopped laughing but tears continued to fall. It was nine in the morning and we were emotionally drained.

"I'm scared." Bex whispered.

"So am I." Liz agreed.

"I...I'm scared too." I said crestfallen.

"We're going to be okay." Bex whispered.

"All of us." I agreed.

"What a summer…" Liz said quietly.

I let out a small laugh. "Girls summer right? That went out the window the second the guys arrived." I shook my head.

"Really though...if we could do it over again…" Bex said shaking her head.

"What would you do different?" I asked curiously.

"Well don't get me wrong, I really like Grant but...we made a pact. This summer we were going to do everything for us, we weren't going to think about the other Gallagher Girls and what they might be doing, or the Blackthorne boys, or anything that had to do with school. I think if I could do it over again I would remember that pact." Bex explained.

I flashed back to the summer so far. We started out strong, everything together then the boys came. Splitting up to surf with our guys, changing who we would sit with on the ferris wheel to have a romantic experience, rearranging who we sat by to cuddle with our chosen, and the big one. Letting the boys split us up when they were trying to get us to forgive them. Oldest trick in the book, divide and conquer.

"So would I. We were blinded." I agreed.

"I thought...I thought we were doing great. But all we were doing was being picky about when we wanted to spend time with each other. We were supposed to get on each others nerves this summer." Liz mumbled.

"We can't change the past. We'll just have to make sure we don't let it happen again." Bex said strongly.

"And it won't happen, not anymore." I agreed.

Liz let out a small laugh. "Who's going to explain this to Macey?" I smiled along with her.

"I told her about the change of plans, it's someone else's turn." Bex said with a grin.

"She'll take it best from Liz." I said grinning at my small friend.

Liz sighed. "You're probably right." We smiled at the thought of informing Macey that we no longer would spend so much time with the Blackthorne boys.

I pulled my feet up underneath me and moved closer to Liz, wrapping my arm around her. She curled up as well and rested her head on my shoulder, Bex leaned over and rested her head on Liz's arm. We stayed that way the rest of the flight.

"The limo will be waiting for us when we land." Mom announced forty five minutes later. "As soon as get to Gallagher, Dr. Fibbs will be waiting to help us get Macey to the infirmary. If everything goes according to plan she'll wake up moments later."

"Do we have to take her to the infirmary? Can't we just take her to our room?" Bex asked cautiously.

Mom thought about it then nodded her head.

"I think we can change the location." She replied gently.

I squeezed Liz's hand and she in turn squeezed Bex's. Macey was really going to be okay. We waited anxiously for the plane to land and as soon as it did, Bex and I lifted Macey from her seat and carried her to the limo. As soon as Macey was seatbelted in, we took off for Gallagher with absolutely no regard for the speed limit.

We paused briefly at the gate before continuing on right to the door. Dr. Fibbs was there with a wheel chair for Macey, we quickly transported her from the limo to the chair to her bed in our room. He had set up a bunch of science equipment as well as a heart monitor and soon Macey looked more like an experiment than a human.

We waited in silence for Dr. Fibbs to be done. He injected Macey with some kind of fluid and then dropped a different liquid down her throat. It was over faster than it should have been.

"Girls, I'm afraid you're going to need the same shot and tonic." Dr. Fibbs explained as he gestured to the other three needles on the tray.

I looked at Bex, then Liz before nodding. I went first. I sat at the foot of Macey's bed as he injected the serum into my arm then dutifully swallowed the tonic. Liz took my place and peppered Dr. Fibbs with questions the entire time. He replied occasionally but otherwise just let her ramble on. Bex nervously sat after Liz, in no way excited to have her arm jabbed. I took her hand softly as Dr. Fibbs prepped the needle then tried not to groan in pain as she squeezed my hand while the needle was in her.

Then it was over. He packed up his things, bid my mother farewell, and told us to let him know if any side effects occurred.

"I have to go and make a few calls. Let me know when Macey wakes up. I'm going to send the nurse up here to look at your ankle Cam." Mom said as she gave us each a hug and exited the room.

We nodded and as soon as she was gone, we set up a sigil. Liz sat down by Macey's feet, Bex sat by Macey's left side and I remained on her right. The nurse came up moments later and told me my ankle was sprained. She wrapped it professionally in an ace bandage and left.

We sat in silence, anxiously waiting for her to wake up.

"Shouldn't she be awake by now?" Bex asked irritably.

"He didn't exactly give us a time frame." I reminded her.

"Maybe I could go ask him to see-" Liz started but I cut her off.

"No need. Mace? Macey, can you hear us?" I asked as Macey's eyes began to flutter.

"Yeah I can hear you...what time is it?" She questioned as if she had just overslept. Her eyes opened and she looked around the room. "Where are we? What happened?"

"It's 10:30, we're at Gallagher, and we're not really sure what happened." Bex answered quickly.

"You didn't wake up Macey, you were comatose." I informed her.

"Why?" She asked.

"We have no idea. The adults know but they wouldn't tell us anything until you woke up." Liz replied. "Speaking of which we should get Mom."

"I'll go, I'm fastest with Cam's ankle down." Bex volunteered as she climbed off the bed. "Don't you go comatose on me again." She chastised Macey as she left.

"I'll do my best." Macey replied with a small smile.

The door closed quietly after Bex and Macey took a chance to really look around the room.

"I missed this place. Where are the guys?" Macey asked as she noticed the lack of testosterone.

"Back at the beach place as far as we know. They were on a run when we took off." I replied.

"Did they call us?" She asked.

"We have no idea, we left our phones back the beach house too." Liz answered softly. "Mace...while you were out, we talked." Liz continued to explain what we decided on the plane. When she finished we both watched Macey anxiously.

Her first reaction was incredulousness, then disbelief, then anger, then meekness, then she finally settled on acceptance.

"I can agree to that. It sounds good." She said finally. Seconds later the door opened, and Bex and Mom appeared.

"Macey, honey how are you?" She asked, more the concerned mother than the concerned spy headmistress. Bex returned to her place at Macey's side.

"I'm good. I just want to know what happened." Macey replied, sitting up more.

Mom sighed but then looked at the four of us. She debated silently how much she was going to tell us and we waited patiently. Then, she began.

"You girls were a part of one of Dr. Fibbs new experimental drug tests. It was a selective memory erasing formula and this was one of the earlier rounds of human testing. You all agreed to it, days before summer break began, I have proof if you need it. We started by erasing your memory of the day you agree, you were supposed to take the antidote and remember the entire thing but the antidote didn't work and none of you remember it. This second round of testing is to see whether or not it works with a longer period of time, a month." Bex cut her off.

"Wait a second, you're saying we're not going to remember this whole month of summer?" Bex asked, not even a suggestion that we weren't going to go along with it.

"Not necessarily, the antidote was remade and it's entirely possible that you will remember all that's happened so far when you take it." Mom replied.

"When do we take the memory erasing formula?" I asked.

"At the end of the month, a week from now." Mom replied.

"What happens if we don't remember?" Liz questioned.

"Then we feed you information to explain the month you don't remember, and you go on with your summer. It's part of the reason I've been taking so many pictures, to show you if the antidote doesn't work." Mom explained.

"Are there any serious side effects?" Bex wondered.

"Not that we've observed until today. We're still not sure what made Macey react poorly but Dr. Fibbs took blood samples so we should be able to figure it out soon. You girls will be fine." Mom soothed us.

"We have to stay here at Gallagher for the rest of the trial, don't we?" I voiced my realization.

"I'm afraid so. On the bright side the guys are on their way here with Solomon and you are free to go to Roseville as you please, as long as you let us know first." Mom tried her best to put a cheery spin on things.

"When will Macey be free to get out of bed?" Liz asked politely.

"If she feels up to it, she can right now. I'm sure you girls are hungry and eager to get out of your pajamas." Mom gave us a wink and moved to the door. "Just try not to over do it."

The door shut behind her and Macey quickly removed herself from under the cover and we all pushed ourselves up onto our knees, to plan what to do next.

"Is it bad that I forgot that we weren't wearing actual clothing?" Bex asked with a smile.

"Absolutely not." I replied. "I forgot too."

"I can't believe you three wore your pajamas out of the house." Bex, Liz, and I laughed.

"I'm glad you're awake Macey." Liz said with a smile.

She grinned back. "Me too. Oh crap…" She hit a horrible realization.

"What's wrong?" I asked, brow furrowed.

"We completely forgot. I cleaned out my closet meaning I have nothing to wear and we dumped everything you guys didn't pack so we have absolutely nothing to wear. I hope you guys are comfortable." Macey groaned.

We were all in pajama shorts and oversized tank tops to help fight the florida heat, they were incredibly comfortable but it's not exactly something you would wear if you're going shopping.

"Well I don't know about you guys but I'm extremely comfortable." I said as I grinned at Liz. Looks like we weren't barbie dolls today.

"I concur." Liz said smiling madly.

"I wonder if I could fight in these. Anyone want to spar?" Bex asked cracking her knuckles. "I learned a few new tricks yesterday."

"You also sprained your wrist." Macey reminded her.

"HA! Now I'm not the only one who's injured!" I gloated.

"I can still spar!" Bex argued.

"Then so can I." I pointed out.

"You wanna try and take me on, Morgan?" Bex challenged.

"Heck yes. As soon as we take you to the nurse to get your wrist wrapped. We wouldn't want to make it worse now would we?" I said pulling the same line she used on me.

"Can I watch? I'm trying to create this new program…" Liz said trailing off.

"Only if they let me fight with them." Macey said before Bex or I could respond.

"I can totally take on you and Cam at once." Bex said cockily.

"Oh yeah right, in your dreams Baxter." I exclaimed jumping off the bed. "You talk the talk but can you walk the walk?" I stumbled slightly as I put pressure on my ankle.

"Better than you can." She teased with a grin. "Let's go get food."

We made our way out of our room and down the grand staircase to the dining room. We took the door in the back corner and quickly picked the lock to get into the kitchen to find the chef waiting for us.

"Girls! I'm glad to see you're all on your feet. If tenuously." He said with a wink at me.

"It's great to see you too chef. Do you perchance have anything we could eat before we head to the P&amp;E barn?" Bex replied politely.

"Absolutely! I'm trying out a new recipe for breakfast bars, would you like to be my test subjects?" He asked holding out a tray.

"We would love to!" Liz exclaimed jumping forward to try one, the rest of us following suit.

We all let out moans of pleasure, they were incredible. They tasted chocolatey with a hint of peanut butter but I knew without a doubt they would give us hours of energy and were fully healthy for us.

"I'm glad you like them. How about some pancakes to go along with them?" Chef asked with a smile.

"That would be wonderful." Macey got out before bites.

He gestured to the stools at the island and we all stuffed our faces with breakfast bars and pancakes before bidding him farewell and leaving to go and spar.

"Um Bex, where are you going?" I asked as she went towards the doors leading outside.

"Um, to the P&amp;E barn, where are you going?" She questioned.

"Why to the infirmary of course, you still need to let the nurse look at your wrist." I said obviously.

"Why I had almost forgotten, come on Bex. We wouldn't want your injury to get worse." Macey said grabbing Bex's arm and leading her towards the infirmary.

"Well hello girls, what can I do for you?" Nurse Bonnie asked as we entered the infirmary.

"Bex hurt her wrist, would you mind looking at it for her?" I asked kindly.

"Of course." She replied with a smile as she stepped forward to examine it.

"I really don't think anything's wrong with-OW!" Bex exclaimed as the nurse twisted it.

"Oh dear. I'm afraid your wrist is sprained. I'm going to have to wrap it to prevent further injury." Nurse Bonnie said pulling an ace bandage from the drawer on her left. She quickly immobilized the wrist before sending us on our way with a smile.

"Now we're ready to spar." I said grinning as we made our way to the P&amp;E barn.

"You're going to pay for that Morgan." Bex growled.

"I look forward to it." I said with a smile as Macey and I led her out onto the mats.

"Hang on a sec guys, I need to set up my laptop." Liz ordered from the benches.

We stretched while we waited and as soon as Liz gave us the okay, we launched into action. Macey and I took down Bex quickly, her calling for a rematch before she was even up off the mat. We went like this for the next hours, taking turns fighting each other or ganging up on each other, Liz even joined in. Each round ended with laughter and smiles. It felt good to spend time together just messing around, with the boys nowhere near our mind for the first time that summer. It couldn't last forever, unfortunately. As we neared the three hour mark we heard frantic calls, each by the same name.

"GALLAGHER GIRL!" Four boys were yelling anxiously, looking for us.

When we first heard their calls, the air shifted. Bex groaned, Macey and I exhaled sharply while Liz just let out a disappointed sigh.

"We're horrible girlfriends." Macey pointed out as none of us called out to them.

"As long as we're not horrible friends, I'm strangely okay with that." Bex commented.

"GALLAGHER GIRL!" The call came once more. I looked at the other and sighed before whistling to let them know where we were.

Liz crossed to the bench and sat once more while Bex, Macey, and I chose to stay standing.

"There you are!" Grant yelled as he entered the gym at full speed with the others hot on his tail.

"Here we are." I said lamely before Zach barrelled into me.

"You guys scared the living crap out of us." He whispered in my ear as he clutched me to him. I wrapped my arms around him comfortingly.

"It's okay, we're okay." I said pulling my head away from his shoulder to kiss him. My stomach filled with butterflies as his lips touched mine. I realized I missed him, the few hours we were apart.

"Don't do that to us." He said resting his forehead against mine.

"Sorry." I said softly, smiling. His lips jerked slightly in a smile.

"Oh you're sorry are you?" He started as his hands crept from my hips to my waist. "I'll show you sorry."

He began tickling my sides wildly and when I tried to get away he simply wrapped his arms around my waist and picked me up and tickled my neck with his nose. He was laughing lightly in my ear as I tried viciously to get him to stop.

"Okay, okay, you've made your point, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry!" I got out between laughs.

"See, I'm not sure if I believe you yet." He teased as he continued to tickle me.

"Bex, help!" I called as tears began to fall from my eyes.

"Sorry Cam, it looks like you've got yourself in quite the pickle." Bex said from where she stood with Grant. I took a look around the room the best I could and saw Macey had her lips locked with Preston and Liz was curled around her laptop with Jonas curled around her.

"Grant, help!" I tried calling for backup.

"Why me?" Grant asked while wrapping his arm around Bex.

"Because you're the only one left bro." Zach said with a grin.

"No, no, because you're, my brother." I managed to get out.

"Oh right! Almost forgot. But wait, is this a brotherly kind of thing to do or is it just more irritating?" He questioned.

I managed to wrap my hands around Zach's mouth before he could reply.

"Brotherly." I gasped as Zach licked my hand.

"Well okay then." Grant decided as he moved from Bex's side and launched himself at Zach's legs.

I rolled free from Zach's grasp and tried to catch my breath as they wrestled goodnaturedly a few feet from me.

"Whew." I let out and Bex came to help me to my feet.

"Thanks Grant." I said as I regained my balance.

He flipped Zach over onto the mat and climbed to his feet.

"No problem." He grinned and ruffled my hair.

"So what have you girls been up today?" Preston asked as he and Macey joined us once more.

"Well we've spent the past few hours sparring-" Bex managed to get out before being cut off.

"What? Are you all insane? Cam, you have a sprained ankle." Zach said first.

"And don't think I didn't notice your wrist bandage, Bex." Grant said holding up Bex's injured wrist.

"Macey, you were literally in a coma this morning, what were you three thinking?" Preston finished.

"We were thinking that we were bored and restless." Macey folded her arms and popped out a hip.

"Besides, we were careful." Bex agreed taking up the same defensive posture.

"We've been taking care of each other for quite some time now, we know our limits. All of our limits." I added, following Bex and Macey's example.

Each of the boys rubbed their hands over their faces. I swear it's like they all share a brain.

"That's not the point." Grant tried.

He turned so he was facing just Bex. Preston grabbed Macey's hands and forced her to look into his eyes. Zach's hand came up and caressed my cheek, pulling my face towards his. It was the same tactic as before, divide and concur. Luckily for us, Lizzie noticed.

"Oh no you don't!" Liz exclaimed jumping up and pulling me away from Zach and towards Bex. "Not again!"

"Liz, what are you talking about?" Jonas asked, walking slowly toward her.

"Plan your next move carefully Jonas." Bex warned as we stepped in front of Liz. Macey had broken away from Preston and came up behind us.

"What on earth is going on?" Preston asked, joining his friends in their slow moving pursuit.

"Just, stay back." I warned as we slowly crept backward.

"Gallagher Girl, what's wrong?" Zach asked, trying to catch my eye.

"Look, we've been meaning to talk to you four." Macey began as I slowly moved us toward where our exit awaited. To the guys, it seemed as if they were cornering us. "This summer is meant to be about the four of us, friendship, sisterhood, irritating the crap out of each other. It was working fine until you guys came along."

"So you're breaking up with us?" Preston questioned.

"No, absolutely not, we're just telling you now that you're going to be second string. We're going to put each other first and if you have a problem with that you should get out now." Macey continued.

"We understand if you put us second string too, we expect it even and we're okay with it, but we figure you deserve to know that there are going to be some changes if you decide you want to stay. Starting with this thing where you get us all mad together then pull us apart to make us forgive you." Bex picked up where Macey left off.

"It's totally not cool." Liz added. The boys looked at each other.

"I didn't even know we were doing that." Jonas said apologetically.

"Well, now you know and you know that we know. We'll be watching out for it." Macey said quickly. We were almost to freedom.

"Is there anything else we should know?" Zach questioned, still trying to catch my eye. I made sure to look everywhere but at him.

"Yeah, that adorable overprotective thing you've got going on? It's got to stop. It makes us feel like we're four year olds being scolded by our parents so if you're going to do it, do it more subtly and tactfully." Macey added as we reached the back wall. I inconspicuously switched places with Macey so I could reach the switch to let us into the passage. We would have to get in fast.

"Okay, we can do that now…" Preston said as the continued their advance.

"Cam…" Bex said slowly and I hit the switch.

The four of us fell into the passage and it swung shut locking the boys out. I knew it wouldn't take Zach long to find the switch so I quickly jumped up and shut the lock.

"Let's go." I said helping my friends to their feet as our boyfriends pounded on the wall.

I grabbed the flashlight I hid nearby and quickly led my friends back towards the school.

"Ugh. Cam, you've seriously got to sweep some of these out." Bex commented as we hurried through the hidden halls.

"If I had the time, I still wouldn't." I replied.

"So where are we going?" Liz questioned.

"The kitchen, I want lunch." I answered as I took the next right.

"Ew! Something just ran across my foot!" Macey yelled.

"You imagined it, trust me there's nothing down here that's dangerous." I consoled her as I opened a secret passageway, within the secret passageway.

"Um, Cam?" Bex said uncertainly.

"Yeah?" I asked, turning to look at her.

"Where are we going?" She wondered.

"I told you, to the kitchen."

"Yeah, I got that but why are we go through this specific passageway?"

"Because it's the fastest way to the kitchen." I said as if it were obvious. It should've been.

"Cam, it's tiny!" Macey pointed out. I just rolled my eyes.

"Don't be such a baby, it's not that bad." I said as I sunk to my knees and wormed my way into the hole.

"For the record, I'm only following you because you have the light. And you're the only one that knows how to get out of here." Liz mentioned as she crawled behind me.

I heard an aggravated scream and a sigh and I knew Bex and Macey were following as well. A yard into the passage, it opened up and became a normal sized hallway again.

"Oh thank the stars." Bex exclaimed as I helped her to her feet.

"You three are such babies." I commented as we made walked the last few yards to the kitchen.

"Wow...that was actually a lot faster than I expected." Macey said surprised as we exited the passageway and entered the pantry.

"No wonder some of the girls think you have super speed." Bex agreed as I opened the door and we were assaulted by wonderful smells.

"I can't believe you guys doubted me. I'm hurt." I said holding my hand to my heart.

"Maybe we should start taking the passageways everywhere." Liz joked.

"You know as much fun as that sounds, I think I'll pass." Macey commented as she pulled a cobweb off my shirt.

"Welcome back girls! How was your workout?" Chef asked as he pulled something delicious smelling out of the oven.

"Hello Chef. It was great thanks for asking." I replied politely.

"Until the guys ruined it." Bex added.

Chef just laughed. "Oh young love."

"Hey Chef, if they come in here looking for us do you think we could hide in the pantry while you send them away?" Macey asked rubbing her temples. We all took a set at the island.

He chuckled again. "Sure girls, I don't mind. But only if you try one of my calzones. Another new recipe."

"We would absolutely love to." Liz said as he placed one onto a plate for each of us.

We sat in the kitchen for a while, chatting with Chef and each other before eventually deciding to go and shower.

"We'll see you this evening Chef, thank you for having us." Liz said politely as we went to leave.

"Any time girls, it's a pleasure to have you." Chef replied.

We bid him our farewells as we crossed through the dining hall and into the main foyer. Liz began to creep back up to our room but I simply walked past her and headed for the stairs. When they all gave me a look I just shrugged.

"I'm tired of creeping around, my ankle hurts." I told them simply. They shrugged at one another before following my example.

Now just because we were creeping doesn't mean we weren't quiet. Our steps fell silently on the wooden floor and we avoided talking to make sure we could here the boys coming. When we reached our room without hearing a sounds, we all let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh bollocks." Bex exclaimed wildly.

"What?!" We replied in unison.

"We forgot that we don't have anything to change into." Bex reminded us, holding up her shirt as proof.

We all groaned.

"You have got to be kidding me…" I mumbled as I ran my hands over my face. "Okay, I'll go talk to mom and see what she has to say."

"Not by your bloody self you're not. I'm coming with you." Bex announced, crossing the room to stand at my side.

"Here, take these. Keep them on." Liz said tossing us coms that we knew were already connected to her laptop

"You girls keep a tight guard here, we'll be back." I said as I opened the door.

"Aye aye captain." Liz said with a laugh.

"You guys be careful out there." Macey ordered in return.

Bex and I saluted and shouted, "Sir yes sir!" in response. Liz giggled and Macey sighed as we closed the door behind us.

"So are there any passageways that will take us close to your mom's office?" Bex asked excitedly.

"Oh yeah, tons." I smiled and led her down the hall a few yards before pulling open a picture frame and revealing one of my favorite passageways.

"This is so cool." Bex exclaimed before she crossed through the hole in the wall into the passageway.

"Believe me, I know." I replied as I shut the frame behind us and picked up a flashlight.

"Where does it go?" Bex asked.

"It lets out right into the hall of history down the hall from my mom's office. There are stairs built into the foundation and it gets a little tight but it's not as bad as the last one." I explained as I led the way to the stairs.

Seconds later we left the passage and entered the hall. It let us out right next to the case holding Gillian Gallagher's sword. We entered the hallway proper and turned to find Grant, Zach, Preston, and Jonas waiting for us. Bex and I exchanged a silent look and turned to crawl back into the passage but Zach saw us.

"Oh no you don't!" He yelled as he and Grant ran over and threw us over their shoulders.

"We knew you'd come to talk to mom eventually." Grant explained as he and Zach carried us towards Mom's office.

"So, where are Macey and Liz?" Jonas questioned as he followed behind Zach.

"Like I'd tell you." I replied shortly.

"Come on Cam, we all know you're going to tell us eventually." Preston put in.

"No actually, I'm not." I said with a snort.

"Well where aren't they?" Jonas tried again.

"I'm really not going to tell you Jonas." I reached out and patted his head. "Good luck."

"Bex, be reasonable. Where are Macey and Liz?" Preston tried.

"Say another word Winters, and you'll lose an arm." Bex threatened. Preston paled so much, I had to laugh.

"Hey maybe you guys could give us a hand back here." Jonas asked his friends as Grant knocked on Mom's door.

"Sounds like you have it under control." Zach teased and Mom called for us to enter.

We were carried into the room and set down on the couch, right next to each other. Idiots. I tucked my feet up underneath me, my injured ankle close to Bex.

"So I see you found some of the girls." Mom said with a small smile as she watched Bex and I move closer together.

"Yeah we found half and we're trying to get them to tell us where their friends are." Zach replied as Jonas and Preston took a seat on the couch opposite Bex and I.

"So, Bexy, where are Macey and Liz." Grant said sweetly.

I could feel Bex's blood boil so I quickly pinched her to keep her quiet without the guys noticing. Luckily Bex caught the message and held silent.

Zach and Grant made eye contact and Zach stepped forward to try.

"Cam, would you pretty please tell us where your best friends in the world are?" He said pleadingly, catching and holding eye contact. I fought the urge to snort.

"Come on girls, our friends just want to see their girlfriends." Grant plead.

We held our silence.

"Will you tell us why you won't tell us where they are?" Zach tried to get any kind of information.

Still our silence held. Macey and Liz were undoubtedly already headed for an unknown location to stay safe.

Zach sighed. "I'm sorry Cammie, you leave me no choice. I'm afraid we're going to have to do this the hard way." He leaned forward dramatically and pressed his lips to mine.

It was intoxicating the way he kissed me, it made me dizzy and lightheaded. Most of the time. No one knew better the effect Zach's kisses had on me, and no one knew better how to keep those kisses from effecting me than Bex so when Zach pressed our lips together all I could focus on was Bex's wrist putting uncomfortable pressure on my ankle.

Zach pulled away and was disappointed to see me hold strong.

"Nice try dude, but you just don't have the correct skill." Grant said as he moved forward to try Bex. I couldn't squeeze her wrist like she could my ankle but I knew she needed some kind of distraction so I did the only thing I could, I dug my toenail into her thigh. The pressure on my ankle was excruciating, it took almost all I have to avoid crying but I kept pushing into her thigh to keep her strong.

Grant pulled away with a small smile on her face, confused when Bex's expression remained neutral.

"Guys, let's just go wait outside again. Mace and Liz are sure to come looking for them." Preston suggested when it looked like Grant was going to explode.

"Mrs. Morgan will you watch them?" Zach asked and gestured to Bex and I.

"Of course." Mom replied as Zach hauled Grant out of the room, Preston and Jonas following behind.

The door shut behind them and Bex and I climbed to our feet. We crossed to the air vent and I pulled up a chair to remove the bolts that held the grate in place.

"You sure this thing can support both our weight?" Bex asked as she held the chair steady.

"Absolutely." I replied certainly. "Lizzie says it can hold around 500 pounds of weight at the weakest points. Right Bookworm?" I asked.

"Right-o Chameleon." Liz replied through the coms.

"Are you going to stop us?" Bex asked with a questioning glance at Mom.

"I said I would watch you, and I am." She replied with a grin.

"You wouldn't happen to have something for us to change into would you?" I asked hopefully.

"Sorry Kiddo. Mr. Solomon does though, he's down in the subs." She replied.

"Thanks, we'll see you later." I said waving as I entered the air vent.

"You guys catch that?" I asked.

"Roger that Chameleon. We'll meet you and Duchess down by the entrance." Macey replied.

"Thanks Peacock." I responded.

Bex climbed up after me and began to put the grate on after us.

"You girls don't worry about that, I'll clean up after you." Mom said waving her away.

"You sure?" Bex asked.

"Absolutely. You girls go have your shopping trip, I'm sure Solomon would love to drive you to the mall if you ask politely." She replied as she screwed the vent on behind us.

"Thanks Mom!" Bex and I both replied before setting off quietly down the vents.

I led us through the vents towards the chemistry lab because they were closest to the ground, Bex following silently behind. We reached the lab without incident and quickly forced our way out of the vent, covering our tracks as we left the lab and began to tread carefully towards the sub levels.

We met up with Macey and Liz in front of the mirror that served as an elevator to the sub levels. Bex, Macey, and I quickly had a silent debate about who was going to scan their hand and get Solomon, and which two were going to stay with Liz. It was decided that Macey would go and get Solomon while Bex and I stayed to guard Liz. Macey entered the elevator and we waited anxiously for her to return.

Faster than I would I have thought possible Macey returned with Solomon in tow.

"Hello Ladies." He said with a grin.

"Hello Mr. Solomon." I replied politely.

"I'm sure you four would like to change quickly before going out for your extravagant shopping trip?" He questioned unnecessarily. He knew that's exactly what we would like.

"Yes sir." Liz answered quietly under his steady gaze.

"Well, we have bags packed for each of you that I believe are still in the van. Let's go and retrieve them, then I will give you girls five minutes to get changed. Does that sounds reasonable?" He somehow managed to ask the question without making it sound like a question. We all knew that he meant he was waiting for five minutes before leaving us.

We all nodded our agreement before swiftly following Solomon out to the car. We pulled open the back of the van and after a brief discussion we decided to just change in the back of the van to save time (and to avoid being kidnapped by the boys).

"So am I allowed to ask why you're avoiding your boyfriends?" Solomon asked from outside the van. He stood by the passenger window which was cracked just enough for us to hear him. I knew he would be observing everything around us while still respecting our privacy.

"We're not avoiding them, per say…" Macey began as she tried to pull on a pair of skinny jeans.

"We're just trying to get in some girl time without them distracting us." Bex added.

"Ah. I see." Solomon replied shortly.

"Why do you ask?" I wondered, pulling off my pajama shirt and grabbing the crop top from my bag.

"Just trying to get a feel for the situation." He responded. It was a planned response.

"Uh huh." I said as I climbed over to the passenger seat, fully dressed. "Why are you really asking?"

He turned slightly towards me. He hesitated before answering but no one moved to changed the subject.

"I decided it was past time I tried to get to know you girls." He replied, honestly this time.

"Aww Mr. S, you care." Bex exclaimed coming to look at him over my shoulder.

He snorted. "Of course I care. You're my students."

"Oh come on Joe, just admit it you like us." I teased. He stiffened slightly at my casual use of his name but I made no move to revoke it.

"Well I like all my students…" He tried to explain.

"Give it up Joe, we know we're your favorites." Macey added in.

"I ethically can't have favorites-" We cut him off with denials.

"Forget ethics, it's not like our professors are state certified." Liz pointed out as she joined us in our teasing.

He turned to look at us, each of us grinned wildly. A small smile found it's way to his face seemingly without permission.

"Alright…" He finally admitted. "Let's go." We cheered more at his admission than the fact that we were going shopping.

We started for the mall, Macey and Liz going on about changes that we would have to make to the schedule based on the stores the Roseville mall had while Bex and I tried to convince Mr. Solomon to teach us some new moves.

"Oh come on Solomon, just a couple illegal moves. We won't use them on anyone but each other." Bex argued.

"You know it's a good idea. Like you say, an operative needs every advantage they can get." I put in.

"Alright, alright, I think about it!" He exclaimed.

Bex and I exchanged high fives.

"Wait, I'll make a deal with you." Solomon said waving off our celebration.

"Oh boy...are we going to like this deal?" I asked concerned.

"Possibly. If you girls will give me a hand with a project I've been working on, I will teach you illegal moves." He bargained.

"Deal. What's the project?" Bex asked.

"You'll see." He said mysteriously.

"Is it bad that I'm more excited than nervous?" I asked Bex.

"Absolutely not, I think you'll enjoy this Cammie." Solomon answered before Bex could.

"Hey Joe, how long are we going to stay at the mall?" Macey asked from the back seat.

"A few hours. I don't want Cammie on her ankle too long and Bex needs to rest her wrist as well." He commented.

"What do you think Lizzie, what are our odds of getting it done today?" Macey asked turning to Liz.

Liz got a look of concentration on her face as she began working the odds out in her mind, occasionally writing at part of the problem in the air before closing her eyes again. In less than thirty seconds Liz had her answer.

"Our odds are surprisingly good." She told Macey, knowing she didn't want exact numbers.

"You guys up for it?" Macey asked turning to me and Bex.

"Absolutely." I answered.

"Do we have a choice?" Bex asked.

"No." Macey, Liz, Solomon, and I answered in unison. We burst into laughter as Solomon pulled into the parking lot.

"I'll be around town picking up a few things. You can get into the van if you need too. I'll be back at 6:00 to drive you home." Solomon explained as he parked the van.

"Cool. Do you have a way to contact you if there's an emergency?" Macey asked.

"I have my phone." He informed us.

"We think the boys have ours." Bex reminded him.

"Right." He said running a hand through his hair.

"Here, take this. We've all got one too so you can contact us this way. We'll keep ours muted unless we need you." Liz said handing him our spare com.

He took it gently from her. He looked down at the device in his hand before smiling and slipping it into his ear. We all exited the car and Joe made sure we had everything we needed before locking it behind us.

"We'll see you later Joe." I called as we went our separate ways.

He waved over his shoulder at us, and the girls and I turned to face the biggest shopping center for miles. The Roseville Mall.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

When I say 'biggest shopping center for miles', I hope you aren't envisioning a huge building with dozens of stores because if you are you would be entirely wrong. The Roseville mall is pathetically small, the biggest attraction is the food court with like, 8 different fast food places and maybe a few more local restaurants that have made the mall their home. There are maybe half a dozen stores in the mall that Macey would even consider taking us to, and that would probably end with no more than a handful of bags for each of us. Not quite the shopping trip we were planning on. Oh well, I'm sure Macey would find plenty of time for the two of us to go shopping once we met up with her parents.

"Okay Macey, where are we headed first?" Bex asked.

"Well...There's not exactly a lot of options. Let's window shop for a while and see where that takes us." Macey decided, lips pursed.

"Maybe you'll find a good boutique." Liz joked. Macey looked significantly more excited.

"Ugh...Gallagher's not even in session, how do they know we're Gallagher Girls?" Bex asked in reference to the glares we were receiving.

"Maybe our clothing has something to do with it?" I suggested gesturing to our outfits. It wasn't too out of place, but it definitely more expensive than most people in Roseville had.

"Nothing to be done, we're only going to be here a couple hours anyway." Macey pointed out as she surveyed the stores like a hawk. "There."

She lead us to a small store that she never would've given the time of day before forswearing everything but boutiques. We perused the shelves and racks, just browsing but before long Macey had found three complete outfits for all of us. We moved on to the next store.

As we searched for a new store we watched almost every citizen of Roseville practically dive to get away from us. Were we really that bad?

"You guys, it's getting worse." I pointed out to my friends.

"Yeah no joke...they've never done this before." Liz mentioned but a memory flew into place.

They had done this before, just a few months earlier when the Blackthorne Boys were here on exchanged. I nonchalantly whipped myself around, looking for any sign of our boyfriends. I caught sight of them out of the corner of my eye and managed to let out a small squeal in warning before Zach wrapped his arms around me and lifted me off the ground, spinning me in circles.

"Gotcha!" He whispered in my ear. I couldn't help it, I grinned at him.

"How did you guys get here so fast?" I asked in reply. I knew they would come after us.

"We're special. We missed you girls. You've been very naughty." He told me as he pulled closer to me and kissed me softly.

"I'm sorry." I told he gently.

"So you're not going to run away any more?" He teased.

"Well I don't think I ever ran in the first place, with my ankle being injured and all." I said technically.

"Mhmm." He kissed me once more then rested his forehead on mine. "No more running?"

"No promises but...no more running." I told him.

"Good." He smiled and kissed me.

"Cam, come on!" Macey called from a few feet away,

"Coming!" I replied, grabbing Zach's hand and pulling him along with me.

"So looks like we've got pack mules." Macey commented once we were all lined up again. Laughing, she handed her bags to Preston who took them graciously.

Bex handed hers to Grant while Jonas took Liz's and slipped his hand into her now free one. Zach looked over and held out a hand for my bags and I shook my head stubbornly. He rolled his eyes and pressed his lips to mine then took advantage of the distraction and wrestled the bags from me. I gave him a stern look but he just grinned and offered his arm to me. I took it with a grin and a blush.

"Did someone tell Solomon that the boys joined us?" Bex asked.

"No." Liz replied.

"Nope." Macey shook her head.

"I'll do it." I said as I turned the microphone on my comms on. I didn't know Joe's code name so I had to improvise. "Incoming message."

"Go for Blackhawk." Joe's voice came through my earpiece.

"We've picked up a few stray puppies. Four to be exact." I told him.

"Arrangements for transport will be made." He replied and I clicked the microphone off.

"We're good." I informed everyone. Zach gave me a look.

"Puppies?" He asked skeptically.

"It's because they're so adorable." I told him with pinching his cheek.

"Hey guys, let's check this out." Macey gestured to a small store across the mall.

"Watch how they run." Bex mumbled as the shoppers at Roseville scurried out of their way. I rolled my eyes.

"So as much fun as it would be to come in and wander aimlessly around the store, I think we're just going to wait out here." Zach informed us after the boys had walked us to the door.

"Good, you'd just distract Cammie anyway. Let's go." Macey commented, turning into the store. Zach stole one last kiss before I followed after her.

This store was full of dresses. Not the super fancy ones, the more casual everyday ones. They also had plenty of skirts and shirts to go with them. Macey took this opportunity to 'girl-ify' me and Bex. She thought we had far too many pairs of pants and shorts that were too 'manly'. After trying on and buying more skirts and dresses than I could wear in a lifetime (I might be exaggerating) we made our way out of the store.

We found the boys passing the time by playing hacky sack. Their make-shift sack being a crumpled up piece of paper. It was rather impressive to watch, they had commandeered basically half of the corridor for their game so they had to launch it rather far to pass it to the next person.

Liz was the one to interrupt their game, she ran through the middle of the circle and launched herself into Jonas' arms who responded by spinning her around like a disney princess. It was adorable. Grant, who was in possession of the hacky sack, hurried to catch it before it could hit Liz and Jonas before crossing to Bex and kissing her softly. Preston reached Macey and placed a kiss to her cheek before taking her bags. Zach simply came up behind me and nuzzled against my neck.

"Okay, where to next?" Preston asked once we had all said our hello's.

"I don't think there's much else for us to do...this mall is so small. Let's see what's downstairs and then we'll go wait for Solomon I guess." Macey replied.

"Down the stairs we go." Grant said excitedly before swinging Bex's bags over his shoulder.

We made our way to the escalator and made our way down the steps. Much to Grant and Zach's dismay, Bex and I jumped over the side of the escalator when we were about halfway down and scared the crap out of the shoppers down there. After being threatened to be carried around the rest of the day, we begrudgingly agreed to not pull any more stunts that day. We wandered aimlessly around the bottom of the floor of the mall when **it** happened.

"Cammie?" A far too familiar voice came from behind me.

"Every freaking time…" I mumbled just low enough for my friends to hear. "Hey Josh."

"Oh it is you…" Josh said sheepishly.

Maybe being with Zach had made me more daring. Maybe Bex was finally rubbing off on me. Maybe I was just deep into my cover. I don't really have an explanation for what happened next.

"Yeah. Obviously." I replied sharply. He looked up in shock.

"How've you been?" Josh asked carefully.

"Great. You?" I asked indifferently. Zach came up behind me and wrapped his free hand around my waist and nuzzled my hair, calming me slightly. I leaned into his touch.

"Good...I see you're still with…" He trailed off.

"Zach." I supplied.

"Yeah...him." He mumbled, looking at his feet. "You look good."

I don't think he meant in that moment but I suppose it made sense if he did. I was wearing a pair of cut off jean shorts with a crop top and high top sneakers and a flannel around my waist. A favorite ensemble of mine apparently, I've worn it a lot so far this summer.

"Thanks. You still with DeeDee?" I asked as Zach somehow managed to pull me closer, distracting me.

"Uh...yeah. Yeah, we're still together." He replied as he watched Zach hold me, his hand worming its way tighter around my waist.

"Good. We should probably go. Bye Josh." I said before turning on my heel and walking away, without even waiting for a reply.

As soon as we were out of earshot, I exhaled sharply.

"Wow Cam, I didn't know you had it in you." Bex praised, a look of pride in her eyes.

"It's about time you shut him down for good." Macey agreed. I shrugged.

"I'm glad you have Zach, Cammie." Liz said kindly. I smiled at her.

"Thanks Liz. Me too." I said as I turned to look at Zach we made eye contact and he took the opportunity to put his lips to mine.

"Ugh. Enough you two, you've made it this long without any serious make out sessions. Don't start now." Bex said interrupting our PDA.

"Cammie!" Josh's voice yelled from behind us. This couldn't be good.

Zach growled. I found myself inclined to agree with the sentiment. I sighed as I followed my friends to a nearby bench. There was no telling how long this might take so they might as well sit down. The boys dropped the bags and arranged themselves to watch the show.

I stood leaning on one leg to keep some pressure off my bad ankle, arms crossed as I waited for Josh. Zach stood next to me with an arm flung casually around my shoulders, supporting more of my weight.

"What now Josh?" I asked irritated as he finally caught up to us.

"Why didn't you tell me? That you went to Gallagher?" He questioned, making and keeping eye contact.

I gave him an 'are-you-serious' look. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to know." I said slowly, as if speaking to a child.

"Why didn't you want me to know?" He asked again.

"The same reason I didn't tell my grandma I broke her vase." I replied. "It would get me into trouble."

"How would that get you into trouble? Did you think I wouldn't like a Gallagher girl? Do you really think I'm that shallow?" He asked wildly.

Trouble in Roseville was one of the main reasons I didn't tell him. Another was I really did think he wouldn't like me if I told him. I was so...naive then. My experience with Josh was good for me, I needed it but I would never go back there. Especially not now. He couldn't know the truth.

"I mean trouble at school Josh, Gallagher girls aren't allowed off school property without an escort. Do you know how many times I snuck out? I could've been expelled if they found out." I didn't mention the fact that they did find out.

Josh stumbled a bit and Zach took the opening.

"Looks like someone has a high sense of their own importance." He said with a small smirk. Josh ignored him.

"Why did you date me at all Cammie? Why bother? Why lie?" He continued to stare at my eyes.

"Because I was bored Josh." Harsh, but necessary. And unfortunately slightly true. "It was all just a game."

He steeled his nerve and looked right into my eyes.

"I don't believe that." He stated. Then he proceeded to do the stupidest thing he could've done.

He took three steps forward and pressed his lips to mine. Immediately, I shoved him off and wrestled away from him just in time for Zach to come forward with a full strength left hook.

Now most guys are pretty strong, Josh himself was not weak but he wasn't exactly strong either. Gallagher Girls are stronger than most people in the world. Blackthorne Boys were stronger. Fully trained spies and assassins are stronger still. Zachary Goode's full strength left hook with a surge of emotion behind it was the strongest.

Zach's fist flew true as it connected with Josh's nose. Immediately blood gushed out of it, Josh stumbled back and the blow proved to be too strong as he passed out. A knock-out with one intense blow.

Grant, Preston, and Jonas were on their feet in a flash, grabbing Zach's arms in an attempt to restrain him. Bex, Macey, and Liz followed right behind as they ran to my side and pulled me out of the way, making sure I didn't get hurt (I had to mentally roll my eyes at the thought, Zach, hurt me?). Zach quickly calmed down after seeing that Josh was unconscious on the floor. After breaking away from his friends he came to my side and quickly checked to make sure that I was alright. After reassuring himself that I was okay we turned to Josh, needing a decision on what to do with him but one of the passerby's had called security. As soon as it was known that Gallagher Girls and Blackthorne Boys were involved, security made it there faster than should have been possible. We were informed that charges wouldn't be pressed but we were not to return to the mall for six months. Then, we were escorted from the Roseville mall.

"Well that was quite the adventure." Bex commented as we loaded our bags into the van.

"That was awesome." Grant agreed with a grin.

"Quite the impressive display." I said with a glance at Zach. I know I shouldn't condone violence but he was defending my honor, I thought it was adorable. If unnecessary. "I only wish I got a hit in."

Zach chuckled and kissed my cheek. "Plenty of time for that. I don't think they've got him to a hospital yet if you wanna sneak in and find him."

"No way! You two are going to be the death of me." Macey forbid as she leaned against the van.

"Aww come on Macey, it'd be fun. It's not like they'd get caught." Preston argued as he gently held her hand.

"It's best if we stay out here. Solomon will be here any minute." Liz pointed out as she held Jonas' arm.

"What are we going to do when we get back to Gallagher?" Jonas asked.

"Eat." I replied as I thought longingly of Chef's creme brulee. I wonder if we could convince him to make it for us.

"Cammie, stop thinking about Chef's creme brulee." Bex groaned from a few feet away.

"Only when you stop thinking about his pan fried steak!" I rebutted as I knew exactly what was on her mind.

"If we don't get food into them soon, we're gonna have a serious problem." Macey said urgently.

"There's no way you two knew what the other was thinking about." Jonas protested.

"Um, there's absolutely a way. They do it all the time. I can't figure it out." Liz argued.

"It's the secret power of best friends." Bex informed them.

"We can read each other's minds." I added.

"There's no way that's real." Jonas argued.

"We can prove it. Whisper something to Bex, something she'd never say to me and I'll read her mind. Watch, it's real." I suggested and Jonas took up the challenge.

He walked to Bex and covered his mouth as he leaned in and whispered something. He watched Bex carefully to make sure she didn't make any signals and I read her mind. There's no exact science to prove that this is real, but Bex and I never failed to read each other's minds. This was no exception.

I turned to look at Preston and cocked an eyebrow. "You sleep with a teddy bear?"

"You told them!" Preston exclaimed.

"Thanks for confirming it." Bex said in her british accent.

"There's no way that's real, you cheated." Jonas protested.

"Don't bother fighting it Jonas, you could tell them something only you know and the other will be able to read their mind." Macey said with a smile.

"It's starting to work with Macey too. Liz refuses to try it." I added.

"It doesn't make sense." Jonas exclaimed.

"Frustrating isn't it?" Liz agreed.

"I'm sure you will be able to figure it out one day, but for now we need to go find food." Bex reassured them.

"Why don't we just go find Joe then head back to Gallagher? My ankle's starting to hurt." I admitted.

"Yeah my wrist is too. Let's get Solomon." Bex agreed but before we could get four steps we were swept off our feet. Literally.

"Zach, any particular reason you're carrying me?" I asked calmly.

"Yeah, you've got a sprained ankle." He explained as he moved me to his back, piggyback style.

"Good reason. I can, however, still walk." I reminded him.

"And I can carry you. It's more fun this way, just let it happen." He said holding me securely to his back.

I looked to see Bex having a similar argument with Grant. It seemed she too lost her argument as Grant moved her from his arms to his back. Grant altered his step so he was standing next to Zach and they started having a conversation about how stubborn Bex and I were.

"You too, huh?" I asked as Bex slumped against Grant's back.

"Yeah. It's not so bad though." She then checked to make sure Jonas and Preston weren't looking before covering her mouth on the side facing our boyfriends and mouthing 'They've got extremely muscular backs.'

I finally acknowledged what I had been thinking the whole time and let myself have a girl moment, freaking out about how buff my boyfriend was. It was great. I grinned before mouthing back 'I know, right?'

"Are you two talking about us?" Grant asked suddenly.

"No." Bex replied evenly.

"Are you sure?" Zach asked.

"Very. Why do you ask?" I responded.

"Well you are mouthing things secretly to each other. It's all very...secret." Grant pointed out.

"We just like driving you crazy. Is it working?" Bex replied, leaning close to Grant's ear.

Grant grinned wildly and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Well it seems to be working on Grant." I whispered to Zach and he laughed.

"Hey guys, do you think we should split?" Macey asked from up ahead.

"No, it will take us longer to find each other again. We should probably call Solomon though." Liz called from behind us.

"Good idea. Actually, speaking of calling, do you four have our phones?" Macey asked.

"Now that you mention it, we may have picked them up." Preston replied innocently.

I rolled my eyes and turned on the mic on my com.

"Blackhawk, location." I asked quietly, leaning forward on Zach's back so it looked like I was whispering to him.

"Nearing main." He replied, but he wasn't that stupid. While we weren't doing anything particularly dangerous, he wasn't going to give away his real location. 'Nearing main' probably meant 'I'm basically as far as you can get from main street' so he was probably near where we were.

"Meet at rendezvous." Bex's voice broke through the com before I could say anything else.

"ETA: ten minutes." Solomon replied. Knowing Solomon, he probably meant five minutes. Just enough time for us to get back to the van.

We told the others and we adjusted our course so we were headed for the mall parking lot.

"So Zach, where's my phone?" I asked as we made our way through the crowds. Or rather, the crowds made their way around us.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He responded cheekily.

"I would, that's why I asked." I replied in the same tone. He chuckled.

"Front left pocket." He told me and I leaned over his shoulder and reached into aforementioned pocket. As promised, there was a phone but it was his.

"This is your phone." I pointed out. He frowned.

"Could've sworn it was yours. Hey, while you've got it, check out the screensaver." He totally planned this. I smiled and obliged him.

"Hey, where'd you get this?" I asked as I surveyed a picture of the two of us, our lips locked. It was from just a couple days ago when Sawyer and the guys were over for a beach party.

"Grant took it. He showed it to me the other night and I set it as my screensaver. The picture of you winking is the home screen." He informed me.

I leaned forward and kissed his cheek before slipping his phone back into his pocket and reaching into the other to grab my phone.

"You didn't change anything this time did you?" I asked teasingly.

"You'll have to wait and see." He said cryptically. I couldn't tell if he was serious so I would have to go through my whole phone and find out.

"Hey snobs!" A voice broke through the crowds. Dillon. Seriously?

We didn't bother stopping. None of us wanted to deal with him today, not after Josh.

"I'm talking to you, brats!" He yelled after us. Did you really expect us to stop?

"How far are we from the van?" Bex asked rhetorically from Grant's back.

"Too far." I commented gravely.

"I kinda want to knock him out, too." Zach commented.

"Don't. He's not worth it." I said, leaning against his back. "Josh probably wasn't either. Are your knuckles bruised?"

"Nah, I'm fine." He brushed off my concern but I still wanted to check his hand. It was a _hard_ hit.

"What, you jerks think you can break my best friends face and then walk away? There's going to be consequences this time." Dillon said angrily as he finally caught up with us.

"We don't want trouble." Grant said calmly.

"Well isn't that unfortunate? I'm serious pretty boy, you aren't going to get away with this." He said popping his knuckles. Idiot.

"What, you want to fight us?" Zach asked surprised.

"No, I want to kick your butts." He said seriously.

"Oh, well that's not going to happen." Preston commented as we continued for the van.

Dillon paused slightly after Preston's comment so he was behind Bex and I, but in front of Liz. Then he made a horrible mistake.

"Hey, I was talking to you." Dillon said as he reached forward and pulled me off of Zach's back.

Before anyone could even really process what happened, Zach had delivered rapid rabbit punches to Dillon's face, causing him to stumble to the ground. I had landed hard on my ankle but stayed on my feet. Bex broke away from Grant and Liz ran forward to make sure that I was okay while Jonas and Grant stood on either side of Zach for back up.

"I'm warning you townie, don't try that again. I don't want to put you in the hospital but I will. I think it's best if you just head on back to where ever you came from." Zach threatened.

Dillon gave us all one last dirty look before spitting at us and going on his way.

"Cam, are you okay?" Macey asked concerned.

"Yeah, fine." I replied, then Zach was there.

"You're sure? It looked like you landed hard." Zach commented as he examined me carefully.

"Yeah, absolutely. I'm good. Just tired." I said with a shrug. Zach surveyed me once more before hoisting me onto his back again.

"Let's go find Solomon. I want to get out of here." Liz commented as Zach pulled me onto his back.

"Do you think you can avoid beating up anymore townies, Zach?" Macey teased lightly and Zach chuckled good naturedly.

"I'll do my best." He replied cheekily.

"Would someone like to explain what happened?" Solomon's voice asked from behind us.

Bex sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"It's kind of a long story." She said helplessly. Once again we began our trek to the van, as Bex explained.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: If I post a new story will you guys read it?**

Chapter 26

"Well I must say, it sounds like you've had an interesting day. How's your ankle, Cammie?" Mr Solomon asked, once Bex finished her story.

"It's okay." I replied as it throbbed.

"And your wrist Bex?" He asked as we began to make our way back to Gallagher.

"It's doing alright Mr. S." Bex replied.

"Can we all agree not to go back to Roseville for a while?" Liz asked out of the blue.

We voiced our affirmatives. No one wanted to face the citizens after what happened today.

"Okay, but if we're not going back to town what are we going to do?" Macey asked.

"Zoo?" I suggested.

"Paint fight?" Macey said with a grin.

"Messy twister?" I added.

"All nighters?" Macey continued.

"Fancy camping?" I put in.

"Fancy photoshoot?" Macey laughed.

"Sounds fancy." Bex interjected.

"Very fancy." Macey and I said in unison before laughing.

"They all sound like a lot of fun." Liz said with a smile. "Can we add a spa day in there?"

"Absolutely!" Bex and I shouted.

"What are you supposed to do while you guys do all of this?" Jonas asked.

"A lot of it you can do with us." Macey pointed out.

"Except the spa day. We'll go rough camping then." Zach said jumping into the conversation.

"So what are we going to do first?" Grant asked.

"You're going to let Miss Morgan and Miss Baxter rest their injuries first." Solomon said firmly.

"Apparently we're going to have a lazy day first. We can plan more out with mom when we get back to Gallagher." Bex said patiently.

"I kinda want to do a photoshoot first." Macey commented.

"That'd be tons of fun. What would we wear though? We have those one dresses but they're back at the beach house." Liz asked.

"We could always go shopping again. Someplace better this time." Macey pointed out.

"Um...let's not." I interjected.

"How about we go when Cam's laid up?!" Bex asked excitedly.

"Um, no!" I objected.

"Yeah! That way she can't veto our purchases!" Macey agreed.

"No! This is a horrible idea." I yelled.

"This is a great idea!" Bex disagreed. "Mom can come too!"

"So what, am I supposed to hang out with the guys the whole day?" I asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, I'm sure they don't mind. It gets them out of shopping." Macey said, finally paying attention to me.

"Are you sure you don't want me there while you shop? What if you need me to try something on?" I bargained. I did not trust them to shop for me. Well, except Liz.

"I'm sure. I know what fits you and what doesn't." Macey brushed it off. "So I think shopping tomorrow sounds good. We'll talk to mom when we get back to make sure though."

"I can't believe you guys are doing this." Preston mumbled. Macey hit the back of his head.

I sighed. "I can, this isn't the first time they've done it. Lizzie, I'm trusting you to keep them from getting me anything too ridiculous." I told my sweet friend.

"Don't worry, you can count on me Cam." Liz said with a smile.

"So what are we going to do while the girls are gone?" I asked the guys.

"Don't worry, I've got a few ideas." Zach said with a wink.

"I will be watching you closely, Mr. Goode." Solomon informed him and we laughed at his pouty face the rest of the way to Gallagher.

As soon as we got to the school, we carried our bags up to our room. I say we, but I mean Macey, Liz, and Grant. Zach was carrying me and Grant refused to let Bex carry anything in case she made he wrist worse. When we reached our room we found a note on the door from mom asking us to meet her in her office. She must've figured out what happened.

"Come in." She called as we reached her door.

"Hi mom…" I sheepishly as we entered.

"Please take a seat." Uh-oh. Her headmistress voice. We were in a lot of trouble. Well, Zach was at least. "Would one of you care to explain the fight that occurred at the mall today?"

"Well it wasn't exactly a fight...per say." Bex said when no one else spoke.

"Is that so?" Mom asked.

"Well yeah, just the one punch was thrown. Not much of a fight." Grant added.

"Oh is that all? Would someone care to explain the punch that was thrown then?" She asked leaning against her desk slightly.

"It wasn't Zach's fault." I defended.

"Yeah, it was totally Josh's. He just straight up kissed Cam, Zach was just defending her." Preston added.

"Is Cammie no longer capable of defending herself?" Mom questioned.

"She totally is, but she's supposed to be a stuck up heiress. We were just sticking to the cover." Zach responded.

Mom sighed and put her head in her hands. We waited silently for the verdict.

"Alright, you eight are banned from the mall. Zach, I'm putting you on mansion arrest for the rest of the week, you're not to leave the grounds." She finally decided.

"Yes ma'am." Zach replied politely.

"The rest of you should go...do something. I need to talk to Cammie." Mom said decisively.

Zach lowered me from his back to the couch before following the others out of the room. Mom waited until the door had shut before taking off her figurative headmistress hat and becoming my mom and sitting by me on the couch.

"Cammie sweetie, are you alright?" She asked worried.

"I'm fine." I answered honestly.

"What happened?" She asked and I relayed the whole story. It was rather intense.

"I'm so sorry, Honey." She said as soon as I finished.

"It's okay. I'm just really glad Zach was there." I told her honestly.

"So I am...you knocking Josh unconscious with one hit would've been harder to explain." Mom joked.

"The girls want to go shopping again tomorrow. Somewhere better." I told her as I leaned back into the couch.

"Is that so? What for?" She asked.

"We want to do a fancy photoshoot. I'm not allowed to be on my ankle though so they plan on ditching me and buying a bunch of stuff for me. I'm supposed to stay with the guys." I informed her.

"I suppose they want me to go with them." She stated as we she leaned back in the couch.

"Yep." I agreed.

"Is this okay with you?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course. It'd sounds nice to spend a day around the mansion." Total lie. She really wanted to go though, I've never been as big of a shopper as my mom has. "Besides, Liz said she would veto anything I wouldn't wear."

She smiled. "Then it looks like the girls and I have some planning to do."

"Indeed you do." I grinned at her. "Let's go find them."

We found them in the our room, organizing our new purchases. The boys were lounging on our beds, tossing a shoe over the girls heads. As soon as mom and I entered, Zach jumped up and helped me to my bed before resuming the game with his friends.

"So girls I hear we're going shopping." Mom said to Macey.

"Indeed we are. If that's okay with you." Macey added hurriedly.

"Absolutely. We'll have to get an early start if we want to go somewhere good." Mom told them.

"That sounds great. Where did you have in mind?" Bex added.

They continued their conversation on shopping plans while the guys threw the shoe. Eventually I got bored and intercepted the shoe when Preston tossed it to Zach. I grabbed it from the air and threw it to Grant. The guys laughed as we continued to toss the shoe. Zach let me toss the shoe with the guys and laid his head on my lap.

We chilled in our room for a while, the guys and I tossing a shoe like a football, mom and the girls discussing the next day's shopping trip. Ugh, I was so sick of shopping. I was actually kind of glad I wasn't going. I wondered what the guys and I were gonna do tomorrow. Nothing too exciting probably, with Solomon watching us.

"So what do you guys have planned for tomorrow?" Mom asked the boys.

"Zach apparently has an idea but he has yet to share." Grant told her.

"Is that so. Well, just remember that Cammie can't be on her ankle too much."

"Don't worry Mrs. M, we'll take good care of Cammie." Preston reassured her.

"I certainly hope so. You kids should go and get some food then get some rest. We've got a big day ahead of us ladies!" Mom said as she left our room.

"It sounds like you guys are going to have quite a bit of fun shopping tomorrow." I said sarcastically.

"You're so lucky you're staying here Cam. I thought Macey was an intense shopper, you're mom is crazy." Liz said, looking a little pale.

"Oh believe me, I know." I told her.

"Can we go eat, I feel my stomach is eating itself." Preston groaned.

"Food sounds like a grand idea." Bex said as she came to help me to my feet. Zach waved her off and pulled me onto his back and we set off for the kitchen.

We ate in the kitchen with Chef and then hurried back to our rooms. Well, the girls hurried back to our room and dragged me with them. We all got ready for bed quickly and after Macey set her alarm we went to sleep.

Macey's alarm went off way too early the next morning. Bex groaned, Liz whined, and I rolled over to go back to sleep. Macey, however, ignored the fact that I didn't have to be up yet and turned on the lights.

"Cam, will you help us get ready?" Macey asked.

"Sure." I moaned as I sat up.

"You're the best. Bex, shower." Macey ordered and we got to work.

I unloaded Macey's multitude of hair and beauty products while they showered and changed. I helped Bex and Liz choose their outfits, then straightened Macey's hair. I sat in between them and passed brushes back in front while they applied make up, all the while we chatted.

"Cammie, I'm so upset you aren't coming with us." Liz said softly.

"It's not too late Cam, you can still come." Macey agreed.

"I don't think they'll let me. I think if I play nice and stay off my ankle today, they'll actually let us do something fun with our last week together." I admitted.

"Yeah maybe...You have to text us the whole time. I know you hate texting and you never have your phone on you, but promise." Bex begged.

"Phones don't work in Gallagher, remember?" I reminded her.

"Jonas and I took care of that, please text us Cam. We can send each other pictures." Liz agreed with the idea.

"I promise I will text you guys." I really did plan on texting them. "Promise you'll text me back?" I asked.

"We promise." They said in unison. I smiled.

"Wow...we're done early. I forgot to factor out the time it would take to get Cam ready." Macey said as the set down their brushes.

"Well we might as well get her ready...I don't think she plans on going back to sleep." Bex suggested.

"True...shower, Cam." Macey said with a small grin. I groaned good-naturedly but hopped to the shower anyway.

I showered quickly and changed into a pair of shorts and a flowy thick strapped tank top with a bandeau underneath. Casual, comfy, and cute. Macey set me down in a chair and blow dried my hair while Bex helped me apply casual makeup, Lizzie playing some music from her computer. We sang along dramatically with the music while the blow dryer covered up how bad we sounded. We let my hair hang down loose but Macey slipped me a hair tie to put on my wrist in case I needed it, then after I slid on my silver locket and the ring that matched Macey, Bex, and Liz's I was ready for the day.

Just in time too, over the noise of the music we heard my mom's soft knock on the door.

"Are you girls ready?" She asked as we entered.

"Yes ma'am." Macey replied, picking up a small purse.

"Looks like Cammie is ready too." Mom said with a wink.

"Yeah, we had extra time." Bex explained.

"Well, we'd better get going." Mom said.

"Wait!" I exclaimed jumping to my feet, careful of my ankle. I grabbed the perfume we bought from the one boutique and sprayed all four of us. "Now we match."

We all grinned. I hugged each of my friends individually then hopped with them down to the front door where the limo awaited.

"Cam, I swear if you don't text us back, I will come back here and-" Bex threatened.

"Consider me warned." I cut her off. "I have my phone right here." I pulled it out of the bandeau I was wearing, it was practically a pocket. Bex nodded before climbing in the limo.

"I'll start a group message in the car." Macey said filing in after Bex.

"I don't know how I'm gonna do this without you Cam." Liz said, slightly scared.

"I believe in you Lizzie, stay strong." I said giving her one last hug.

She filed in after the others, and after hugging my mom goodbye, the limo took off and they were gone.

The sun was barely creeping over the horizon. The boys would be asleep for another few hours and I had nothing to do. Great.

My phone vibrated once and I checked to see who it was from. It was the group message Macey started.

'Cammie we miss you!' The text read. I quickly typed a reply.

'It's been 15 seconds.' I reminded them as I went inside and ate breakfast.

We continued our conversation all through their drive but it slowed as they reached the mall so I hopped upstairs to the library. I picked out a random book and read until I heard the noise that could only mean the boys were looking for me.

"CAMMIE!" Jonas was yelling as he walked down the hall.

"In the library!" I called to him.

Moments later he appeared at the door, out of breath.

"Finally, we've been looking everywhere for you. Come on, we've got big plans." He said pulling me to my feet and wrapping an arm around my waist to support me.

"So Zach finally shared?" I asked as we made way down the hall.

"Yeah, it's gonna be epic. We're creating an obstacle course that you have to do on your knees." Jonas explained.

"That will be incredibly fun." I stated.

"Yeah, I agree. Come on, they're down stairs with Solomon trying to find supplies. We're gonna set it up in the subs." Jonas said and we picked up our pace.

"There you two are, it's about time." Grant scolded as we entered the subs.

"I apologize that my ankle is sprained." I said sarcastically as I sat in one of the desks.

"You're here now and that's all the matters." Zach said. "Jonas, will you check our math?"

He gestured the whiteboard that was covered in so much information that I couldn't even see the math. Their handwriting truly was awful. From what I could gather, they were going to use the desks to create the obstacle course and I would be the test dummy.

"Yeah, the math looks good, let's get to work." Jonas announced and the boys cheered.

Set to work they did, it's incredible what you can accomplish when you set your mind to it. They decided to set up the end of the obstacle course then work backwards. The end seemed very simple in theory but in execution it was incredibly difficult. They ended up needing my help to hold some things up while they wedged something out of my sight line. I told them I hoped the rest of the obstacle course wasn't as difficult to build.

Once the end was up however, the rest was fairly straight forward it was just pretty time consuming. It wasn't long before we sent Grant to get Macey's ipod and speaker so it was less quiet in the subs. I was in charge of the music while they organized the desks. I was given strict instructions to change the song as soon as Preston started dancing and when Jonas started singing. As soon as I got a taste of both, I understood why.

We laughed and chatted mindlessly as they worked, having a blast. The time seemed to fly by. I sent the girls tons of pictures and they did the same. Once, Jonas, Grant, and Zach stacked four desks on top of each other and then climbed on top of them while Preston shook the desks. I took a selfie with me looking scared in the bottom of the frame and sent it to them with the caption 'Your boyfriends ar Y!' They agreed with me.

A few hours after we started the course was complete but we still had quite a few desks left so we decided to extend the course. Well, I decided to extend the course.

"We have to do something with the extra desks, they're kind of in the way." Grant said. They had been arguing about what to do with the chairs for like five minutes, so I stepped in.

"Put them in the elevator. That can be the beginning, try to get into the elevator then back out before the doors close on you." I suggested.

"That's actually a pretty good idea." Jonas agreed.

"To the elevator!" Zach yelled.

This lead to the next challenge, getting the desks into the elevator and arranging them so they were complicated before the doors closed on you. They put the desks in one at a time before I took pity on their poor souls and disabled the elevator for them. Then we arranged the desks without the added challenge of the elevator doors. Once we had them all arranged I fixed the elevator and we rode out of the subs.

"Well as much fun as that was...what do we do now?" Preston asked.

"Eat lunch." I suggested.

"We can extend the obstacle course along the main floor." Zach said, lost in thought.

"Good idea." Jonas agreed.

"I like Cammie's idea." Grant put in.

"We'll eat in a minute, I've got an idea." Zach said as he ran somewhere.

Jonas and Preston took off after him while Grant just groaned.

"I hate when he says that. Come on Cam, I'll give you a ride." Grant pulled me onto his back and we went in search of Zach and the others.

We found them in the main entry hall. Zach was on the ground, counting tiles?

"What on earth are you doing?" I asked.

"Shh." Zach said.

"He won't tell us." Jonas explained.

"Eureka!" Zach yelled, jumping to his feet and taking off once more.

"No!" Grant groaned again. "That's almost worse."

We took off running once more, this time a supply closet. Zach removed a roll of paper towels and shoved it into Jonas' hands.

"How sturdy is this?" He asked.

"Well it depends on what you mean by sturdy. If you mean how thick is it, about a millimeter if you mean-" Jonas began.

"Thanks, that's all I needed to know. How many layers would it take to make it thick enough to walk on if suspended?" Zach asked.

"Um, it depends on the weight of the person. Several rolls at least." Jonas said shortly.

"Awesome, grab all the paper towels you can and carry them to the main hall." Zach began throwing rolls of paper towels over his shoulder and we scrambled to catch them.

I say 'we' but I mean Jonas and Preston. I nudged Grant off to the side and asked him to take me to closet a little further down the hall.

"What are we doing down here?" Grant asked.

"Saving the planet." I responded as I grabbed a box full of dental floss.

"I'm confused." Grant stated.

"By using this in addition to the paper towels, we'll save several dozen rolls." I explained.

"Ugh, now you're in on it?" He asked.

"Well if he's gonna do it we may as well help. The sooner we're done the sooner we can eat. Many hands make light work." I decided.

"True enough." He agreed and we took off back to the grand hall.

"Freeze, Goode." I yelled as the boys came into view. Zach stopped unwrapping rolls of paper towels. "I'm going to make your life a million times easier."

I held up the box for them to see. Apparently Grant wasn't the only one that didn't get it.

"What's in there?" Preston asked.

"Dental floss." I said, Jonas gasped in understanding. Zach and Preston were still giving me blank looks so I explained once more. "It will give us more support so we use less paper towels."

"Oh." They said in recognition.

We set to work once more. Zach measure out lengths of paper towels and laid it out in the hallway. Then Jonas and I calculated how to extend the floss between the walls so it support our weight. We then spent the better part of four hours weaving it carefully from one side of the wall to the other a few feet off the ground down the incredibly long hallway. We went back and forth a few times making sure it was really sturdy. We didn't need any more injuries.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Zach asked, a piece of pizza in his hands.

"You got food without us?" Jonas accused.

"Chill, we brought you guys food." Grant explained, appearing with a pizza on a tray. Jonas and I attacked it. Zach came and sat by my side and handed my a water bottle. I took it gratefully.

"So how's it going?" Zach asked again.

"Good, we're done." I stated as I waved at the weave of dental floss.

"So we can test it?" Preston asked hopefully.

"Sure. What have you guys been doing this whole time?" Jonas asked.

"Setting up the main hall. We were gonna extend the obstacle course through the main entrance then decided not to. We have another great idea though." Preston told us.

"Did we just do all of this for nothing?" I asked irritably.

"No way, this is still a great idea, we just didn't want to extend it through the main hall. Wanna see our other great idea?" Zach asked.

"I'm afraid to say yes." I told him cautiously.

"Don't be, this is gonna be epic." He said pulling me onto his back. He took off at a run toward the main entrance.

"Oh. My. Word." I told him as the staircase came into view.

"Mattress surfing!" Jonas exclaimed.

"What do you think Cam?" Zach asked.

"I think we were once suspended for doing something very similar in 7th grade." I told them, thinking back to the sledding escapade of '09.

"Seriously?" Preston asked.

"Oh yeah…" I replied. "This looks significantly safer than what we did."

"Well it's going to be significantly more fun too." Zach said as he hauled me up the stairs.

"Where did you get the mattresses?" I asked.

"The empty rooms." He replied, setting me on a mattress. He climbed onto it behind me. "You ready?"

"Absolutely." I was in no way ready. He pushed us off and we slid down the metal plates they had placed on the stairs. I screamed as we went around the curve in stairs and finally landed a foot in front of the door.

"I'm next!" Grant yelled as he ran up the stairs and launched back down them, sliding on a mattress.

"How are you Cam?" Zach asked, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Great actually." I laughed as Grant fell off the mattress. "I need to send pictures to the girls."

I laid back against Zach's chest as I took pictures and sent them to the girls. The guys called for Zach to go down with them and I pushed him up. All four of them climbed onto a mattress and they all managed to stay on their feet on the way down. We mattress surfed for a good part of the night, the guys took turns taking me up the stairs and surfing down with me on their back. It was a blast. We took a break to eat some very unhealthy dessert with Solomon then convinced him to go down with us a few times. Go down with Solomon was my favorite, he liked to spin the mattress around as he went down the stairs making it a million times more fun.

Finally, we acknowledged that my mom would be home soon and cleaned up the mattress surfing but we left the obstacle course up. We practiced going through the obstacle course so we could race with the girls when they came home. We had collapsed for the night when the limo pulled up in front of the school.

"Come guys, let's go!" Grant said excitedly as he bounded out the door.

"Come on Cam, don't you want to see what they got?" Preston asked as he followed after.

"I'll tell them you're too tired to move." Jonas offered as he followed Preston.

Zach and I laid on the floor by the stairs, his arms wrapped around my waist. My head rested in the crook of his neck as he leaned up against the banister. My leg was stretched across the bottom stair and my back was against his chest when we saw a bag laden Grant appear in the doorway.

"Run. Before they get you too." He said dramatically.

"Wait, seriously?" I asked.

"Zach, Cammie, because I love you I insist you run." Preston said appearing behind Grant with just as many bags.

"I don't think they're kidding." Zach mumbled and we sat up more.

"They're coming for you. Go!" Jonas yelled dramatically.

"Okay, we should go." I said as I tried to climb to my feet.

"Is that Zach and Cammie?" Macey's voice called.

Zach jumped to his feet and pulled me up with him, I jumped onto his back. We took off and disappeared into a passageway.

"Which way?" He asked. He recognized that I knew the school better.

It would be safest if we waited upstairs in the junior common room. That would be an easily explainable location.

"Left." I replied and he turned. "Right, second left, right, straight, right."

He followed my instructions simply then we stopped in front of a brick wall. I reached out and opened the latch then Zach stepped into the junior common room.

"Smart choice." He complimented.

"Thanks. They'll come looking for us in a couple minutes, we should de-dust." I suggested and we immediately began to remove the dust from our clothes and hair. We had just removed the last of it and sat down when Bex appeared in the doorway.

"I knew you'd be in here!" Bex exclaimed.

"Um...congratulations?" Zach said.

"Oh hush Goode, I'm here to get Cammie. You should make yourself useful and help your friends carry in the bags." Bex said as she crossed the room and grabbed my arm, pulling me up.

"I'll be sure to do that. Would you like me to carry Cammie?" He asked kindly.

"Well...sure, just be sure you don't let your hands wander anywhere they shouldn't be." Bex said and she let Zach pick me up. We followed Bex to the top of the stairs. "I got her from here Goode, go and lend a hand."

Zach kissed me softly then saluted Bex before going down the stairs and out the door to grab bags. Bex and I started for our room, her arm around my waist and mine around her shoulder for support. We reached our room and I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Oh. My. Word." I said slowly. Our room was already covered in bags and I knew that there were more.

"Cammie!" Liz's head popped out from behind a pile of boxes and bags.

"Geez Liz, what did you guys do, buy the whole mall?" I teased.

"Pretty much. I tried to stop them but I couldn't control anything. They were like jaguars on the hunt, they were unstoppable." She exclaimed as she wrapped me in a hug. "We split up to cover more ground and I'm absolutely terrified to see what they bought me."

"Oh good, you found Cam." Macey said as she came out of the bathroom. "You're going to love what I got you Cam. We managed to schedule the timing so that we no longer have to go shopping for new wardrobes. We got it done in one day!"

"Oh my goodness Lizzie, how are you still alive?" I asked.

"I don't know Cam, I really don't know. It's all a blur." She told me. "Let's get you sitting down before every sittable surface is covered."

Liz and Bex helped me sit on one of the seats that wasn't covered in bags just before the guys appeared with another set of bags. They set them all down before telling us there was probably one more load before they were done. A minute or two after they let, mom appeared with Solomon in tow.

"Oh no, they got you too Mr. S?" I asked.

"I'm afraid so Miss Morgan. Don't worry though, there are only a few bags left." He said with a wink before leaving the room.

"Hi sweetie, how you feeling?" Mom asked as she took a seat next to me. "Ankle all better?"

"Definitely." I stated. There was no way I was spending another day making everyone else carry me around.

"I saw your guys' obstacle course. Very impressive." She said I caught a hidden piece of information.

"Solomon was hiding in the subs?" I asked.

"Yes, at the end of the obstacle course. I must say, it took me longer than I expected to get through it, I'm impressed." She said as she smoothed my hair. "You're going to love the things Macey and I picked out for you."

"How much stuff did you guys buy?" I asked finally.

"A lot. We had to buy whole new wardrobes for all four of you as well as new accessories and even some new beauty products." She told me.

"Do you know how long it's going to take to sort through all this stuff?" I asked as I gestured around the room. Now our dorm room was pretty big, it had to be to accommodate four girls, but it was practically bursting with bags.

Mom laughed a little. "I'm sorry sweetie, it looks like you've had a long day, but now you've got a long night ahead of you. I've got bags of my own to unpack, I'll see you girls in the morning."

"Hey Cam, where's my iPod?" Macey asked.

I winced. "I think it's still down in the subs."

"Sweet, let's go get it." Macey grabbed Liz and Bex and we took off for the subs.

We reached the hallway where the dental floss was stretched out and the girls stopped dead.

"Cammie, I know you said you were making an obstacle course but I honestly didn't expect it to be this big." Bex stated as she looked down the hallway. It was a long hallway, almost a fourth of a mile. It went across a good chunk of the school.

"You have no idea." I told them truthfully. "This is only the beginning."

"Is there any kind of shortcut or...something?" Macey asked.

"Nope." I replied.

"I was afraid she might say that. You go first Cam." Liz said, pushing me forward slightly. "We'll follow."

It was a good idea so I climbed up onto the paper towels and dental floss and began crawling along it. Now, the boys and I had done this a few times already so I was getting pretty fast at it and I completely forgot that the girls didn't know about the little traps we set along the way. I waited at the elevator for about five minutes before they finally appeared.

"Okay guys this is where it gets hard." I told them as I pushed the elevator button.

"Was that supposed to be the easy part?" Bex asked.

"We've got to be really fast, the easiest way to get in is here at the left corner. Just follow me, and we should be fine." I explained as the elevator doors opened.

I hurried through the hole and pulled Liz down behind me. Bex and Macey hurried down after us and barely made it in before the doors closed.

"This is insane!" Macey exclaimed as we clambered in around the desks.

"This is where it gets fun, now hurry we have to get to the other side of the desks before the doors open." I said as I wove around the desk legs.

"Cammie, remind me to never leave you alone with the guys again." Bex commented as we scrambled around the desks.

"Why are you blaming me?" I asked as I reached the other side of the elevator.

"I know you, and I know your ideas. This was definitely your idea. Why are we going to the other side of the elevator?"

"Because the easiest way isn't necessarily the easiest way out." I told them as they joined me, seconds before the elevator opened.

"So tell me something honestly, how long were you guys stuck in here the first time you got in the elevator?" Macey asked.

"Honestly, we all got out the first time. Preston almost lost a toe, but we got out." I told them as we scrambled out of the elevator. "It helped that we were the ones that built it so we knew how to get in and out easily."

"Okay, where's the iPod?" Macey asked as the elevator doors closed.

"Just over here by the door, I basically sat here the whole time." I told them as I reached behind a desk and grabbed the iPod and speaker.

"Okay, now how do we get out?" Bex asked.

"The same way we got in." I told them, as if it were obvious. They groaned.

Getting back up the elevator was significantly easier than getting in the elevator the first time. We made it across the dental floss bridge pretty quickly too. Soon enough we were back in our room, victorious.

"Cammie, I am never leaving you alone with the guys again." Macey declared as we entered our bag covered room.

"There you guys are." Grant said, popping out from behind Bex's bed.

"We thought you got lost in the bags." Jonas added, appearing from the side of Liz's bed.

"We got the rest of the bags." Preston announced as he came out of the bathroom.

Zach came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist without a word.

"Awesome thanks." Macey said as she kissed him.

"You guys are the best." Bex agreed, kissing Grant.

"Now get out." Liz said kindly as she wrapped Jonas in a hug.

"Oh come on…" Jonas whined.

"Sorry guys, we need to get this stuff organized. Go get some rest it looks like you guys had a busy day." Macey said as she led Preston to the door.

"Did you see our obstacle course?" Grant asked as Bex pulled him from the room.

"We did. We love it, it's really impressive." Bex told him.

"Cammie helped me weave all the dental floss." Jonas told Liz as she walked him to the door.

"You did great Jonas. I recognized your pattern. Maybe tomorrow you can show me how you did it, but tonight we need to get this done." How did Liz manage to make kicking someone out of our room polite?

"Can we hang out tomorrow?" Preston asked.

"We can hang out all day tomorrow, we're going to do a photo shoot tomorrow." Macey told him as she grabbed Zach and began hauling him to the door.

Suddenly the guys didn't look so eager to spend time with us.

"Maybe we'll let you guys take pictures tomorrow. I think Solomon wanted to go camping tomorrow, right guys?" Grant asked.

"Yeah yeah, something about a boot camp." Zach agreed.

"Oh...well, I'm sure you'll have lots of fun with that. We'll see you guys tomorrow then, night." Macey said as she hurried and shut the door on them, locking it for good measure.

"That was easily the most entertaining thing that happened all day." I told Macey as she pushed her back against the door.

"I missed you Cam." Macey said with a small smile. "But now, we've got a lot of work to do."

"Should I fear for my life?" I asked, only half joking.

"No." Bex said with a smile, but behind her Liz was nodding yes.


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Sorry it's so short.**

Chapter 27

Liz was right, as usual. There was so much stuff I had no idea how they managed to buy it all in such a short amount of time. There were new wardrobes for all of us. The new wardrobes that Bex and I had were very similar in style, dark colors in dark shades. There were leather things and ripped things and yet everything still managed to look cute. Liz had a lot of pastel colors in all degrees of brightness. Macey had a perfect mix of both.

The worst part of the new wardrobes was the amount of things they bought. Normal people go shopping and buy a few things at a time then go back and buy more when they need it. Not Macey, Macey buys everything she could ever possibly need at once and only goes back if she forgot something. So in that day's shopping trip alone she managed to buy a few dozen shirts, two dozen pairs of pants, and a dozen skirts with another dozen and a half dresses. For each person. And shoes. And accessories.

When I say accessories I don't just mean necklaces and earrings, oh no. I mean necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings, anklets, ear cuffs (which are not the same things are earrings), hair clips, decorative bobby pins, headbands, scarves, hats, gloves (yes, they're an accessory), purses, wallets, bags, satchels, and beanies. Believe it or not, they are all different things. So not only did we have to sort through dozens of items of clothing, we had to sort through (and organize) all the accessories as well. Not to mention the shoes.

Macey is particular about her shoes. She only buys high quality shoes but that in no way means she doesn't buy dozens of pairs. It just means we have to be extremely careful about how we put the shoes away, and how we wear them, and how we clean them, and how we take the shoes out to wear them. Shoes take a very long time to organize.

Now all of this is not mention all the things Macey bought specifically for the fancy photoshoot. There were more ridiculously overpriced dresses for all of us(that were admittedly, very cute) as well as shoes, accessories, hair care products, makeup, perfumes, and underclothing that were specifically for the photoshoot and had to be sorted separately.

So as you can see, we had our work cut out for us. I had no idea going into this how long it would take but Liz did.

"I estimate it will take us until around 4:30 AM if we start now and work non stop." Liz told us while Macey plugged in the speaker.

My eyes bugged out of my head but Macey was not deterred.

"Well then we better get to work." Macey said calmly as she turned to face the chaos before her. A fire lit in her eyes, she would organize the chaos before the night was out.

We got to work. Macey set us each to do individual tasks in the hopes of getting it done quickly. Bex was in charge of outfits. She would separate the clothing and set the items on the corresponding beds. Liz was in charge of shoes, a task I was unsure of for Lizzie. She would go through the pairs of shoes and label the boxes and set them next to the person's bed. If she finished early she was to help Bex. I was in charge of accessories. Macey had decided that a majority of the accessories would be shared by all so I was in charge of locating all the accessories and organizing them in the back corner of the room where they were available for all of us to use. When I was done, I was going to help Bex and Liz. Macey herself was going to tackle makeup and hair care products. She would sort them by person and organize them in the bathroom.

We blasted the music through the dorm room and maneuvered around each other as we all tried to work as quickly as we could. I quickly located all the accessory bags and dragged them into the back corner to work. I thought I could get it done quickly but my hopes were dashed when I saw the numerous individual items inside each bag. It took my the better part of almost three hours to complete my task. I first had to separate each item then find a place for it then organize it by size or sometimes color or sometimes shape. I also had to make sure that each item was easily accessible. It took me an hour to do necklaces alone.

Liz breezed through her task and swiftly moved to helping Bex. With the two of them working it went by extremely quickly. The finished sorting all the clothes by throwing them onto certain beds (except for the stuff for the photoshoot, we all had strict instructions not to touch that stuff) when I finished with accessories and Macey appeared from the bathroom. She took one look at the progress then we moved onto stage two.

Stage two was a little better. Now we had to go through the mountains of clothing on our beds and put them away. Shirts, dresses, and skirts had to be hung. Shorts, pants, underclothing, and pajamas had to be folded carefully then organized into separate drawers in the dresser. We also had to go through and sort through our shoes, deciding which ones we were willing to share with others and place those at the back of the room for everyone's access. This part wasn't very difficult, just very time consuming. I spent a good chunk of time gaping at what they had bought me. None of it was unwearable unfortunately but a lot of us was definitely more risky than what I usually wear. That's what I get for letting my friends shop for me.

Despite the ease of the task, it took us another three and half hours to complete it. By this time we were all exhausted and staggering on our feet. However, we were still not done. We still had to go through all of the things for the fancy photoshoot and Macey wanted me to try on the dresses she bought me. The other outfits she knew would fit me.

First we separated clothing. We each had a handful of incredibly fancy dresses, a few more casual but still fancy outfits, as well as a couple completely casual outfits. We also had shoes, special makeup, hair care products, and accessories that matched. We quickly gathered the things that belonged to us and hung them up to breathe. I gasped when I saw what Macey had bought me.

They were all ball gowns. And strapless. One was a neutral color that had a sheer back with beading on it, it was stunning. Another was a pale pink that was ruffled and sort of reminded me of the dress I wore that night with Zach but it was cut differently and had a style that was less showy. The third was a blood red. It had a long train and velvet detail. The fourth was a light gold. It shined, but it wasn't metallic. The last was a pure white.

The girls all had dresses that were similar. Each of them had a neutral, a pink, a red one, a gold or silver, then a pure white. Each dress was incredibly different in style but they all went together. They were gorgeous and I'm sure Macey had something great in mind.

I tried each of them on hurriedly while the girls organized the accessories and special care products. We finished at exactly the time Liz approximated and fell into a deep sleep.

"Cammie, it's time to wake up." Zach voice was whispering in my ear. I groaned.

"Bex!" I called to her.

"What?" She replied just as sleepily.

"Make it stop." I begged.

"On it." Bex called back.

"Oomph." Zach fell to the ground. I guess Bex was still half asleep. "Bex, why did you throw a pillow at me."

"Shhhh." Bex replied.

"What if I don't want to?" Zach retorted. Bex climbed out of her bed. Poor Zach.

Bex slapped Zach around for a minute, him failing to defend and before I knew it, Zach was locked out of the room and Bex was climbing into bed next to me.

"Hey Cam?" She whispered in my ear.

"Hmm?" I replied.

"What time is it?" She asked drowsily.

"Sleeping time." We both quickly fell back asleep.

Now see most boys would be leave when their girlfriends best friends locked them out of their room. Not Zach. One of the downsides of having a spy boyfriend was that he was extremely capable of picking locks. And of bringing backup.

Zach broke into room again five minutes later and this time he had Grant, Jonas, and Preston accompanying him. They quickly opened the door and gathered around our beds.

Preston and Jonas both used their individual tactics to get Macey and Liz out of bed, but seeing as Bex and I were huddled together in the same bed Zach and Grant decided to team up.

"Caaaaam." Zach whispered in my ear. "Waaaake up."

"Beeeeeeex." Grant echoed. "It's day time."

"Go away." I groaned.

"It's time to wake up." Grant told us.

"It's time for you to go away. We're exhausted let us sleep." Bex moaned.

"You've slept long enough." Zach informed us.

"_You've_ slept long enough." I corrected him. "_We_ have not. Let us sleep."

"I can't believe we thought you guys cared about us." Bex said grumpily, but I could tell she was completely joking.

"Whoa how did you get that from us waking you up?" Zach asked

"I didn't mean it! I'm sorry! We'll leave!" Grant yelled at the same time.

"GUYS!" Macey yelled over them. She climbed out of her own bed and crossed to ours. "She's kidding."

Macey flopped down on top of Bex and I, joining our pile. We let her wiggle under the covers of us as well all attempted to sleep. Unfortunately, our boyfriends were against the idea.

"Come on guys, we're bored." Preston whined.

"It's been so long." Grant groaned.

"Please wake up? Pretty please?" Zach asked.

This continued for a full minute until Liz got sick of it and shot out of her own bed.

"Okay! We're up! I will get them out of bed, leave so we can get ready." She instructed.

The boys cheered at their success and left the room, Lizzie herding them out the door. As soon as they were clear of the door, she locked it and did something else (I didn't see what). She then came over to our pile and jumped on top. When she didn't scream at us to get up we assumed she wanted to sleep as well. We let her climb under the covers of us and while we were still precariously piled on my bed, we all fell back asleep.

"I thought you guys said you would get ready?" Jonas' voice came an hour later.

"Actually what I said was ' I will get them out of bed, leave so we can get ready' I never said when." Liz told him.

There was a moment of silence.

"She's not wrong…" Grant said quietly.

"Well I still think that they have been in bed much too long. Let's do something today." Jonas suggested.

"We planned on planning our photoshoot today." Macey informed them.

They all groaned. "What are we supposed to do then?" Grant asked.

"I thought you guys were gonna go camping." Bex reminded them.

"Oh yeah...we could always do that." Jonas agreed.

"Well then let's go talk to Solomon!" Zach announced, jumping to his feet and running from the room.

"Why didn't you say that earlier? There's no way I'm going to be able to fall asleep now." Macey groaned. "Come on, we might as well get up and plan the shoot."

"Who's taking the pictures?" I asked.

"Your mom volunteered yesterday." Bex informed me.

"When are we doing this shoot?" I asked again.

"We're planning everything today and doing it tomorrow so plan on going to bed early tonight." Macey told me.

"Can we eat before we start planning?" Liz asked.

"We can eat while we start planning." Macey corrected as she climbed out of the pile, pushing us all onto the floor.

We all quickly threw on socks and jackets before heading for the kitchen to eat. Macey brought her phone, a notebook, and Liz's laptop so we decided to make the kitchen our home base. Macey already had dozens of pictures in mind that she wanted to take so all we really did was make a list of which pictures we were going to take first and in which areas of the school.

After we finished 'breakfast' (at four in the afternoon) and decided which pictures we were going to take we had to find hair and makeup styles. We first thought that we could find hair and makeup that would work with each of our dresses but that idea was quickly thrown out. We spent a good hour looking up hairstyles and makeup ideas. We had finished with our task the next time we saw the boys.

"Hey guys." Grant said as he ran into the kitchen, a backpack in hand.

"Hi Grant. What's up?" Bex asked.

"Solomon's taking us on a week long camping trip!" He told us excitedly.

"Wow, that long?" Macey asked.

"Yeah! He says he's gonna make it like a training exercise or something cool that will give us extra credit at Blackthorne. I'm psyched." He explained.

"Well I hope you guys have fun…" Liz said, trying to be nice.

"Oh yeah, we will." Grant said as he finished piling food into the backpack and raced from the room.

"Well at least we don't have to worry about the boys while we work on the photo shoot. Maybe your mom will let us go to a spa while they're on their camp out." Bex suggested.

"That would be so wonderful, I can't even tell you." I agreed.

"I know a great one not too far from here. I'll see if I can get us reservations." Macey added.

Liz hit the table with her fist like it was gavel.

"That does it, we're going to a spa." Liz told us all excitedly. "Let's go talk to mom."

We hurried up to mom's office to tell her our idea.

"Hello girls." She told us as we entered her office.

"Hi mom." We replied.

"What can I do for you?" Mom asked.

"Well we have this great idea, but we need your approval." I began.

"What is this great idea?" Mom asked.

"We want to go to a spa while the boys are on their camp out." Macey told her, jumping right into. "I know a great spa out of the way not too far from here. It would a blast."

"I think that sounds like an excellent idea. Can you make reservations for us?" Mom asked.

"Absolutely!" Macey told her as the rest of us cheered excitedly.

"Okay, okay. You girls had better go and get ready for tomorrow." Mom told us.

"We're practically ready." Bex told her. "We just need to check some of the locations."

"Well go ahead and do that. There are some movies in the common room if you run out of things to do." Mom reminded us.

"Oh don't worry, I don't think that's going to happen." Macey said as she dragged us from the office.

We hurried around the school and double checked all of the locations. We made sure they would work for what we had in mind before Macey dragged us back to our room and told us her plan for the night.

"Okay, if we're going to be taking pictures in here we need to clean it." Macey ordered.

"Ugh, do we have to?" Bex whined.

"Yes. This should be easy, we just need to pick up our stuff and put the cut bedspreads on the beds, and vacuum, and dust, and wash the curtains…" Macey trailed off. "Maybe it will be harder than I thought."

It ended up being much harder than Macey thought. First of all, we had to be extremely careful around all of the clothing that we were wearing the next day. Secondly there was so much cleaning to be done. Windows had to be washed. Blankets, towels, drapes, bed spreads, pillow cases, and basically all other visible fabric had to be washed. Everything underneath our beds had to be organized, as well as all the furniture in the room (apparently it wasn't artistic enough). We also had to reorganize everything in the bathroom and deep clean the bathroom as well because Macey had a genius idea for a photo opportunity.

By the time we finished cleaning, we were so exhausted we wanted nothing more than to sleep. Not really, we just didn't want to clean anymore so that's what we told Macey at around 1:30 in the morning. Macey was merciful and let us sleep. She set an alarm so we wouldn't wake up too late and we all quickly fell asleep.

Macey's wonderful alarm didn't have the opportunity to wake us up the next morning. Our wonderful boyfriends did.

"Cam." Zach said quietly as he shook my shoulder. My eyes popped open to look at him. "We're leaving."

I sat up to give him a hug. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he buried his face in the crook of my neck. We sat there for a little while and he periodically let his lips kiss my neck and I tried not to grin each time he did. I failed. Finally, after Grant, Jonas, and Preston had said their goodbye's the boys all quietly left our room and shut the door behind them. It would be a week before we saw them again.

"I'm going to miss them." Bex said quietly.

"Me too." I agreed.

"I can't go back to sleep now." Liz told us.

"Me either." Macey agreed running her hand through her hair. "I guess we should get ready."

"Hey Cam, what did Zach say to you?" Liz asked.

"Not much, why?" I replied.

"Well it just looked like your goodbye was pretty quiet." She responded.

"Yeah it was...Zach's not huge on words and neither am I so it was pretty quiet. It was kind of perfect." I told her with a smile and she grinned back at me.

"Liz, you're in the shower first." Macey called from the bathroom.

And so the day began. Liz showered then Macey, and Bex, then me. We slipped into the same shorts and shirts from the day we had our big dates with the boys and hurried to get our first set of hair and makeup done. Our white dresses were first and we all had complimentary curls and natural makeup. It didn't take us as long as I expected to get ready, we were kind of in a rush.

I had my strapless lace white gown while Macey had a similar lace gown but hers had capped sleeves and a longer train. Bex had a full ball gown that had a beautiful heart neckline. Liz had a straight long tulle gown that looked wonderful on her. We quickly slipped on the corresponding shoes just before mom came to find us. She grinned when she saw us all in white.

"You girls look beautiful. Let's go take some pictures." She told us and we hurried into the hall.

We first took a picture with all of us sitting on the grand staircase with our dresses spread out around us. Next we went to the ball room (*cough* grand hall without the tables *cough*) and mom had us all twirl while she tried to capture a picture with our dresses swirling out around us.

Liz ended up falling three times, there was a scare where we thought Bex ripped her dress, and we were laughing more than we should have been. It took us ages to figure out which way we had to spin and how fast so we could all be facing the camera at the same time.

Finally we got the spinning picture and we moved to the hallway. We all took off our shoes and lifted up our dresses with linked arms (quite the feat) and ran away from mom while she snapped the picture with our shoes arranged artistically at the bottom of the frame. The picture was going to be epic.

We took a few more pictures with us just standing in the grand entrance with the double doors open. We made cheesey smiles and normal smiles. We made kissy faces and jumped onto each other's backs. It was a ton of fun.

After an hour in our white dresses we switched to our pink ones. We took more dramatic pictures in our pink ones. We took pictures outside by the pond and in the trees. Macey had some cool editing ideas in mind for those ones. We didn't take very many inside in our pink dresses. When we were outside and by the pond, Liz slipped and fell into the pond in her dress and my mom caught the exact moment she fell. After making sure she was okay we all decided to do 'trash the dress' pictures and we all jumped into the pond.

In between our pink and neutral dresses, we took pictures in our shirts and shorts of us getting ready in our room. We took pictures of us doing hair and makeup, of us looking at our dresses, hanging upside down on the beds, and we even took some of us jumping on the bed.

After we were done with that we switched into our neutral dresses and took pictures in the library and in the classrooms. We didn't take as many pictures in our neutral dresses, the best ones would be in our red dresses.

Before we could put on our red dresses though, we put on our silver and gold ones. By this time the sun had started setting so we took more pictures outside with Gallagher and the sunset in the background. They were going to look so cool. After we were done with the silver and gold ones we hurried to get into our red ones.

While we got into our red dresses and did our hair and makeup for the last time, my mom went outside and started a bonfire in the back of the school and and got the portable lights that we had found in the attic. We hurried outside into the freezing night and set up the lights so it was very dramatic. We took some really intense pictures by the fires and in front of the school then we went out to this big field behind the pond and took a bunch of cute pictures of us looking up at the stars and we took some really cool distance shots.

By the time we were done with this, we were tired and cranky and hungry but Macey wanted one more shot. She helped my mom set it up while Bex, Liz, and I chatted.

"Do you think the guys are having fun?" Liz asked.

"I hope so." I replied.

"Do you think they're warm enough?" Bex asked.

"I really hope so. It's freezing out here." I responded.

"I'm really glad they came out this summer." Liz said.

"Me too." Bex and I said in unison.

"Girls, come here." Macey called. We hurried to her side.

She sat us down in a circle around the fire and we gratefully leaned near its warmth.

"Today has been so fun." Macey commented.

"Yeah, I'm glad we did this." I agreed.

"We should do stuff like this more often. I'm so excited to see the pictures." Bex told her. "I want to see the one where Lizzie fell in the pond."

We all laughed at the memory. Liz really did have terrible balance.

"I'm so excited to go to the spa. This summer just keeps getting better and better. I kind of don't want to go home in a week." Liz commented.

"It's only for a month, then we'll be together again." Macey reminded her. She looked at mom. "Did you get it?"

"I sure did. Let's get inside, I'm sure you girls are freezing and it's supposed to rain tonight." Mom said as she reached for one of the portable lights.

We grabbed everything we needed and put the lights away before hurrying inside. My mom promised that we could look at the pictures the next day but we all needed to get to bed. We whined and complained about it but ultimately stopped fighting and quickly climbed into bed.

"Cam. Cammie can you hear me?" Bex was screaming.

"Yeah I can hear you. Stop yelling." I whined.

"Cam, I'm whispering." Bex told me. I opened my eyes widely and looked around.

Bex, Macey, and Liz were all surrounding me wearing their pajamas but it was early evening.

Wait. Early evening?

"What happened?" I asked quietly.

"You wouldn't wake up Cam. It was like Macey." Liz told me. "Dr. Fibbs doesn't know what happened, no one does. The serum he gave us earlier didn't work and apparently it's too dangerous to continue the trial. They're wiping our memories again and then they're going to try and return them."

"When?" I whispered.

"Now. As soon as you woke up was what they told us." Macey replied.

"How long until they get here?" I asked.

"A few minutes." Bex replied.

"We may only have a few more minutes of our memories of this summer." I realized.

"I don't want to forget!" Liz exclaimed. "I'm scared."

"It's going to be okay Lizzie." I grabbed her hand. "I promise."

Just that moment my Mom entered with Dr. Fibbs.

"Cammie sweetie I'm so glad you're awake." My mom exclaimed smoothing my hair. "Did...did the girls explain?"

I nodded.

"Girls, I'm sorry to rush you into this but I'm afraid we have to. I don't want to risk any permanent damage." Dr. Fibbs held out a small cup to each of us. "Bottoms up."

There was about an inch of liquid. It was red and smelled like gatorade. I sat up and swirled the liquid around in the cup. I looked at Bex, Macey, and Liz. We each made eye contact as we sat in a circle on our knees. I grabbed Bex's free hand and Liz grabbed Macey's.

"On three." I declared and they nodded.

"One…" We all took a deep breath in.

"Two…" Macey looked toward the ceiling as if she was praying.

"Three…" We threw the cups back and swallowed the liquid.

THE END


	28. AN

Sorry guys, no new chapter. That is unfortunately, where the story has to end. For now. I will give no hints towards a sequel because I'm evil. I am however working on a new story that I think I will be publishing soon. Keep an eye out for it(;


	29. Epilogue

**A/N: Okay so I caved and wrote an epilogue because I got so many requests for it, don't know if it's gonna satisfy you, but here you go. **

Epilogue

The sunlight came through window lighting up the whole dorm. I groaned and rolled over before burying myself back under the covers. My head was killing me, what a night. Outside the window I could hear the birds chirping and someone mowing the lawn.

The light was flying through the curtains and lighting up bits of dust through the room. We apparently really needed to vacuum. I could hear Macey's soft snore coming from her bed and I didn't have to look to see Bex and Liz still fast asleep. I wanted to wake them up but the light was blinding. Why was it so bright? My head started pounding the minute I tried to sit up so I stayed laying down.

"Bex." I called, knowing she was the lightest sleeper. "Bex!" I called again when she didn't respond.

"What?" She groaned as she finally woke up.

"Is it just me or is it excessively bright in here?" I wondered.

"I agree that it is very bright in here." She told me in a thick cockney accent.

"What day is it?" Liz asked with a groan.

"I dunno...June?" I replied. "Why did we fall asleep with the lights on?"

"A more important question would be; where is everyone?" Macey asked as she too woke up.

"Yeah, it's awfully quiet." I agreed.

"It's kind of nice, my head is killing me." Liz mentioned rubbing her temples.

"Mine too." Bex agreed.

"Same." Macey added.

"Mine is throbbing too." I told them truthfully.

"Maybe we should try and find your mom and ask her what's going on." Macey suggested as she pulled herself into a sitting position. "On second thought don't sit up, it's a bad idea it just make your head go all dizzy."

"Try moving slowly, it makes it a lot easier." Liz said as she eased herself up.

"Good thinking Liz." Bex agreed as she moved to a sitting position. "Ugh, my wrist hurts."

"I'm going to try standing." I announced as I placed my feet on the floor and attempted to stand. "Ugh, my ankle hurts."

"Yeah we really need to find your mom." Macey said as she slowly lifted herself off the mattress.

My friends and I clutched to each other as we left our room and sluggishly made our way down the hall, stopping every so often to catch our breath.

It took us a pathetic 10 minutes to reach my mom's office. We knocked quickly on the door and hoped she would answer soon, Liz looked like she was about to faint.

My very frazzled mother pulled open the door and began to tear up the moment she saw us standing there.

"Mom?" I asked, suddenly concerned. "What's wrong? Where is everyone?"

"Come in girls, come sit you like you're about to be blown over." She hustled us inside her office and sat us down on the couch before acknowledging any of our questions.

"Mom, what is going on?" I asked seriously.

"What do you girls remember?" She asked, concerned.

"Um...Dr. Fibbs...a weird drink. What day is it?" Macey wondered.

"It's the end of June." She told us after a moment's hesitation.

We all froze. Where did June go? We looked at each other, trying to figure out what we had missed and how we had missed it.

"Seriously mom, what happened." I asked very slowly.

She explained Dr. Fibbs memory experiment and our involvement in it. Just when I thought all hope was lost and I would never know what happened in the past month she informed us of the most important part of the puzzle, they hadn't given us the liquid that was supposed to return our forgotten memories.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's have it!" Bex exclaimed.

"Well there's something else you should know…" Mom hesitated to tell us what came next.

"MRS. MORGAN! They're missing! I told you so, we left their sides for five minutes and-" And what would you know, Zachary Goode burst into my mothers office followed by Grant, Jonas, and...Preston Winters? "Cam?"

"Zach...What are you doing here?" I asked cautiously, grabbing my friends arms for support.

"Cam...Mrs. Morgan, do they remember anything?" He suddenly couldn't look at me. I was surprised at much I wanted him to look at me again.

"I haven't given them Dr. Fibbs newest version of the formula. I don't know yet." Mom explained.

"Why not?" Preston questioned.

"We're running out of time." Grant hurried her.

"Mom, whatever you have to tell us is going to have to wait. Give us the formula now." Macey told her firmly.

Mom gave us all a look then glanced at the boys before finally sighing and nodding.

"Go and get Solomon, and the book. We'll wait on you to return before we begin." Mom instructed them and they ran out of the room, I can't be sure but I don't think they've ever moved faster.

"So Mom...what are they doing here?" Bex asked as soon as they left the room.

"It's something that will be explained once we know if the formula worked." She told us firmly. We knew we weren't going to get anymore out of her and we didn't have the chance.

The boys burst into the room carrying a scrapbook with an out of breath Solomon right behind them. I didn't think it was possible for people to move that fast. Solomon must have been just down the hall.

My mom glanced at Solomon and they had one of their silent conversations before mom produced four small bottles of blue liquid that smelled like cherry cough medicine. My friends and I sniffed it before glancing at each other and deciding that there would be no escaping it. Bottoms up on three.

One.

I glanced at my best friends in the world who looked horribly nervous. I knew I looked the same.

Two.

I couldn't help but look at Zach who looked worried. Worried about me? That couldn't be.

Three.

I didn't even think about it as I downed the contents of the bottle and tried not to cough it all up. The horrible concoction burned my throat and I couldn't help but cough.

The last thing I saw was Zach at my side, grasping my hand.

My eyesight was blurry as I came to. I must have been asleep for at least half the day, the sun had made its way across the sky. I estimated it was early evening.

"Bex! Macey! Liz!" I croaked.

"Shh, Cammie don't try to talk." Zach hushed me before handing me a bottle of water. "What do you remember?"

"Mom's office." I managed to get out. "Everything else is blurry."

"Does that mean...Cam, do you know why I'm here?" He asked, voice breaking slightly.

I shook my head.

He let out a shakey sigh before making sure I drank my water.

"I'm going to go and find your mom, Cam. I'll take you to the other girls first. They're already mostly awake and waiting for you. We wanted to wait for all of you to wake up before we...before we talked." He told me as he lifted me easily into his arms and carried me to the next room over. I hadn't even noticed we were in Eva and Tina's room.

"Cam's up." Zach announced as he deposited me safely on Macey's bed with the others. I tried not to think about how much I wanted to be in his arms and how safe I felt there.

"Cam!" Bex, Liz, and Macey cried as we wrapped each other in a group hug. "Do you remember anything from the last month?" Bex asked.

I shook my head no. "Do you?"

They all sadly shook their heads and we all silently asked each other what we were going to do now.

"Girls, how are you feeling?" Mom asked as she hurried through the door, the book from earlier in hand.

"Tired." Bex replied.

"Confused." Liz told her.

"Muggy." Macey answered.

"Hungry." I finished.

"Well, I can help with most of those. I assume you girls want to know what's happened the past few weeks." She said as the boys filed out of the door.

"Of course!" Bex exclaimed, sitting up and leaning against the headboard. The rest of us followed suit.

"Well...the easiest way to explain is to show you. Here are pictures that I've taken over the past few weeks." Mom handed me the scrapbook and I immediately dropped it onto Bex's and Liz's laps where all four of us could see it.

The first few pictures were of us in front of Gallagher wearing some really nice aviators. Then there were some of us on a plane, in a house, on the beach, covered in sand, and cuddling on the couch. Then there were some of us on a pier with the boys, there was one of Zach and I in the waves kissing. There were pictures of us on a ferris wheel Bex kissing Grant and me kissing Zach again. There were pictures of us playing cards, in the pool, in the ocean, on the beach, Liz cuddling with Jonas and Macey cuddling with Preston. There were pictures of us in a bathroom, the counter covered in products as the four of us got ready for...something.

"The date with the boys." I realized, pointing at us holding our outfits in the bedroom at the beach house.

"Your dresses were so pretty." Macey agreed. "How do I know that?"

We kept flipping through the pictures, memories coming back. The water park, the party, the date, the pranks, the silent treatment. Macey's coma and our emergency trip back to Gallagher. Running into Josh at the mall...

"At least now I know where all these bags came from." Bex mumbled as we found pictures of the girls shopping.

"Oh my gosh the obstacle course." Liz gasped.

"I can't believe you left my iPod down there!" Macey laughed.

"You guys missed mattress surfing, by the way." I informed them.

"We'll have time to do it again." Bex said firmly.

The boys...there were so many pictures of us with the boys, mostly from the night of the date. The black and white pictures we had edited for our screensavers, the formal pictures mom made us take, the night with Sawyer, Sam, and Xavier and our sandcastle contest. Pictures of us kissing our boys, pictures of them kissing our cheeks, pictures taken at the exact right moment with them looking at us like something out of a disney movie.

I pulled myself out of the bed, determined to find Zach, Bex not far behind. Liz and Macey climbed off the other side of the bed as I limped towards the door, my ankle throbbing. It was worth it. I ripped open the door.

"Zach!" I yelled down the hall to where the boys had circled up.

He looked at me with a heartbreaking sorrow in his eyes that faded slightly when he heard me call his name. I hobbled into the hall with a smile on my face, Bex at my side.

"We remember." Bex said with a smile as she took off towards Grant, whom I've never seen smile wider.

I tried to run to Zach but my ankle was not having it so I had to wait for him to make it to me. He was grinning wider than I'd ever see him smile and his eyes had a brightness to them that hadn't been there when we first met. He reached my side and lifted me up so my legs could wrap around his waist as our lips finally met. I was vaguely aware of Jonas and Preston running past us into our room but I was more focused on Zach.

Zach. His hands gripped my thighs to help keep me from falling as I wrapped my arms around his neck keeping him close to me. Our lips moved in perfect harmony as he nipped at my lower lip before nuzzling his head in my neck. I reveled in the feeling of him in my arms once more.

"Cam." He sighed against my neck before placing a soft kiss against the side of my neck. "I've never been so scared." I cut him off.

"Don't be scared. How could I forget you? You're aren't getting rid of me anytime soon, Goode."

"I don't want to." He whispered as he looked me right in the eyes. I took the opportunity to reclaim his lips for my own selfish purposes.

I could have spent all day there in his arms but unfortunately, my friends had other ideas.

"Cam!" Macey called.

"Yeah Mace?" I replied, reluctantly letting Zach lower me to the ground. He kept a firm grip on my waist however.

"We think it's time to finish our photoshoot." She said, gesturing to herself and Liz.

"But, with all of us this time." Liz added. I smiled and looked up at Zach.

"How much do you love me?" I asked with my best smile.

"More than you can ever know Cam." He replied with a grin.

"I was hoping you might say that…"

We set out clothes for the boys to wear before hurrying back to our room and getting ready ourselves. We showered, blow dried our hair, put on makeup, and slipped on casual cute clothes that would match each other and suit our boyfriends outfits before meeting my mom and Solomon outside to complete our photoshoot.

We mostly took pictures as a group, all of us in the garden, on the stairs, laying in a circle, piggy back rides, kissing cheeks, all sorts of poses and the boys were really good sports about it but my favorite was one of just Zach and me.

I was laying in the grass and he was leaning over me, our eyes locked. I had a peaceful half smile on my face but Zach was grinning down at me like I was his whole world.

Later when we were editing the pictures and picking out our favorites, Zach handed me my phone back and whispered:

"Look at what I changed your screensaver to."

I swiped open my phone and typed in my password-CAG-and grinned as I saw his favorite picture of us, the one Grant had taken of us secretly, our lips locked and not a care in the world.

**A/N: Sorry it was short, hope you liked. I tried to give you closure. If you liked it, I just posted a new story. Give it a shot(:**


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